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Tootprints 


Texas  Historv 


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By  minnie  G.  Dill 


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jfootprtnts 


flDinnte  (5»  Bill 


Sixtb  iBDition 


AUSTIN,  TEXAS 

Von  Boeckmann-Jones  Co. 

1916 


Copyright  1901, 

by 
Minnie  G.  Dill. 


PREFACE. 


I  have  tried   in  these  pages  to  present  some 
■facts  in  Texas  History  which  would  be  interesting 
to   children   in   the    Second   and    Third    Grades. 
Every   child   should  read  History   Stories  at  an 
early  age,  because  they  have  great  value  in  form- 
ing the  character  of  the  young.     Children  love 
«•  the  marvelous  in  Fables  and  Fairy   Stories,  but 
tJ>  tliey   often    ask,    "Is   that   story    sure   enough?" 
^  which  shows  that  they  thirst  for  the  truth, 
cfi       Every  teacher  believes  that  the  way  to  fix  His- 
D  tory  and  Geography  in  the  mind  is  to  carry  on 
the  study  of  them  at  the  same  time.     The  Geog- 
^  raphy  questions  at  the  end  of  some  of  the  stories 
I"  are  merely  suggestive.     The  teacher  can  furnish 
o  many  more,  so  that  a  child  can  gain  much  infor- 
mation about  his  own  State. 

I  desire  to  express  my  thanks  to  Mr.  Sowell  for 

d   the  use  of  cuts  from  his  book  on  Texas  Indian 

v^    Fighters,    and    for   material    for   Indian    stories; 

l^   and  to  Mr.  Sterling  Fulmore  for  the  designs  for 

^    other  cuts ;  to  Judge  Raines  for  assistance ;  and 

■.'■    to  the  State  Library,  which  is  rich  in  valuable 

I-J    and  interesting  works  on  Texas  Historv.     I  have 

used  also  as  aids  Thrall's  History  and  Wooten's 

History,  and  Under  Six  Flags. 

Austin,  Texas,  August  23,  1901. 

453367 


CONTENTS. 


Texas  9 

Air  of  Dixie 9 

The  Happy  Hunting  Ground 9 

The  Homed  FTOg 11 

The  Eabhit  12 

The  Land  of  Tents 13 

Indians  14 

Bows  and  Arrows.     I 17 

Bows  and  Arrows.     II 18 

Big  Foot   19 

"Big  Foot"  Wallace 22 

Wallace's  Dogs   23 

Cynthia  Ann  Parker 24 

Iron  Jacket 27 

Putnam  Children 29 

^¥hat  the  Indians  Thought  of  Red  Hair 31 

Bowie's  Brother's  Story  of  an  Indian  Fight,    I.  32 
Bowie's  Brother's  Story  of  an  Indian  Fight. 

II 3L 

Black  Jim  Bowie 36 

La  Salle 38 

Bean    42 

A  Bold  Pirate 44 

The  Treasure 4o 

The  Father  of  Texas 48 


6  CONTENTS. 

How  the  First  Texans  Lived 49 

Austin  in  Mexico 52 

The  War 54 

Battle  Hymn  55 

The  First  Battle 56 

Ben  Milam 57 

Concepeion  58 

Tlie  Grass  Fight 60 

Ben  Milam 61 

Independence  Day  63 

The  Twin  Sisters 64 

The  Great  Hunter 65 

The  Texas  Spy 66 

An  Indian  Fighter 67 

The  Flag 68 

Travis'  Letter  from  the  Alamo 69 

The  Fall  of  the  Alamo.     1 70 

The  Fall  of  the  Alamo.     II 71 

Fannin    74 

Fannin    75 

The  Runaways 78 

Burning  of  Gonzales 81 

San  Jacinto.     1 82 

San  Jacinto.     II 83 

San  Jacinto.     Ill 84 

A  Great  Man 87 

A  Letter  from  Houston 89 

Bonnie  Blue  Flag 91 


CON^TENTS.  7 

Texas   93 

The  War  Without  Any  Blood 93 

The  Cart  War " 94 

The  Black  and  White  Beans 95 

Drawing  Beans 97 

Prisoners   100 

Wallace  a  Prisoner  in  Mexico 101 

The  Texas  Seal 103 

A  Texas  IsTorther 104 

The  Blue  and  the  Gray 105 

Everything  Cost  More  During  the  War 107 

Young  Sidney  Sherman 108 

The  First  Railroad  in  Texas 109 

A  True  Soldier 110 

Death  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston Ill 

The  Land  We  Love.  .  * 113 


TEXAS. 

"Above,  above  such  skies  of  blue, 
Below,  below  such  flower-sown  sod, 
While  ever  and  ever  between  the  two 
Go  the  wonderful  winds  of  God." 

DIXIE, 

"Texas  is  the  land  for  me; 
On  a  winter  morning  the  wind  blows  free; 
Awa}^,  boys,  away  down  South  in  Texas ! 
In  Texas  land  where  I  was  born  in. 
Early  one  fine  summer  morning; 
Away,  boys,  away  down  South  in  Texas ! 

"In  the  happy  land  of  Texas,  hurrah,  hurrah  ! 
Tn  Texas  land  we'll  take  our  stand, 
And  fight  and  die  for  Texas  land, 
Hurrah,  hurrah  !  hurrah  for  the  boys  of  Texas !" 

THE  HAPPY  HUNTING  GROUND. 

A  long  time  ago,  there  was  a  tribe  of  Indians 
traveling.  When  they  first  saw  the  plains  of 
Texas,  full  of  beautiful  wild  flowers  and  grass, 


10  FOOTPRIXTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

they  called  out,  "Telias !  Tehas !"  which  means 
the  Happ}-  Hunting  Ground.  From  that  we  took 
the  name  Texas. 

Xo  wonder  they  liked  it.  Droves  of  wild 
horses  would  snort  and  run  out  of  the  way  when 
the  Indians  came  near  them.  Deer  ran  over  the 
prairie  in  herds  of  hundreds.  The  deer  were  so 
tame  that  you  could  draw  them  to  you  hy  putting 
a  red  flag  in  tlie  ])ushes.  When  one  was  shot  the 
rest  of  them  would  run  up  and  gather  around 
him  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  Black  hear  hid 
in  the  cane.     Wolves  howled. 

The  prairie  was  alive  with  huffalo,  going 
morning,  noon,  and  night,  to  drink  at  the  river; 
wading,  and  snorting  in  the  water;  climbing  the 
muddy  banks,  and  looking  with  wild  eyes  at  the 
passing  canoes.  The  Indians  could  hide  and 
shoot  them  as  they  came  to  drink.  Sometimes 
they  killed  twelve  in  three  days,  besides  deer  and 
geese. 

The  music  of  little  birds  filled  the  air.  They 
gave  life  to  the  country.  There  were  many  sea 
birds  near  tlie  Gulf. 

["N'ame  ten  birds  and  tell  where  you  have  seen 
them.] 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  11 

TflE  HOENED  FEOG. 

The  horned  frog  is  like  both  the  frog  and  the 
lizard.  He  is  from  three  to  five  inches  long. 
Plis  feet  are  those  of  a  lizard;  his  body,  part  frog 
and  part  lizard;  his  tail,  part  lizard  and  part 
pollywog.  His  head  has  scales  going  up  and 
back  like  horns ;  two  of  them,  are  longer  than  the 
rest.  Two  lines  of  horns  go  down  his  body.  He 
is  a  dark  gray,  ■vA'ith  white  spots  all  over  him. 
His  eyes  are  black,  like  two  bird-shots.  His 
mouth  is  large,  as  if  it  might  swallow  you. 

He  moves  like  a  frog  and  a  lizard, — a  hop, 
skip,  and  a  crawl. 

If  a  frog  were  as  big  as  an  elephant,  wouldn't 
you  be  afraid  of  him? 

When  you  take  him  into  3-our  hands  he  looks 
at  you  with  his  little  dark  eyes,  which  seem  to 
say,  "I  would  not  hurt  you  for  the  world !" 

You  may  turn  him  over  and  tickle  liim  ever  so 
much,  yet  he  will  keep  his  temper.  Little  chil- 
dren, don't  you  like  to  play  with  him?  Did  you 
ever  drop  him  down  the  back  of  your  waist,  at 
the  neck,  that  he  might  tickle  you  as  he  crawls 
on  vour  back? 


13  FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

Once  a  man  was  walking  along,  when  out  of 
the  grass  near  by  ran  what  he  thought  was  a 
centipede,  and  he  was  afraid  of  it.  He  got  a 
stick  about  ten  feet  long  and  mashed  it.  It  was 
a  horned  frog. 

He  is  a  pet  with  all  who  know  him.  He  takes 
his  meals  on  flies  and  tender  grass,  and  his  drink 
he  gathers  from  the  night  dew. 

THE  EABBIT. 

The  rabbit  is  called  mule-eared  because  of  his 
long  ears.  His  ears  are  tipped  with  white,  and 
while  ihe  rabbit  is  sitting  still  he  keeps  them 
moving  up  and  down,  as  the  butterfly  does  his 
wings  when  on  a  flower. 

Are  rabbits  not  graceful  and  fast,  and  pretty 
to  look  upon,  as  they  hound  away?  They  are  so 
fast  and  strong  that  it  is  hard  for  any  dog  but 
the  gi'eyhound  to  catch  them. 

If  your  dog  Tray  should  see  a  rabbit  jump  up 
within  ten  feet  of  his  nose,  he  would  give  a  bark 
and  run  after  him.  He  would  follow  for  a  while, 
then  stop  and  look  at  the  rabbit,  drop  his  tail, 
hang  his  head,  and  come  back. 

[ISTame  ten  animals  that  live  in  Texas.] 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTORY. 


13 


THE  LAXD  OF  TENTS. 

You  like  to  go  out  camping  for  a  few  weeks 
even'-  summer,  don't  you?  But  how  would  you 
like  to  live  in  a  tent  all  the  time?  That  is  the 
way  the  Indians  lived.  They  called  their  tent  a 
wigwam. 


WIGWAM. 

The  wigwam  is  huffalo  skins  sewed  together 
and  made  into  a  tent.  .  The  skins  are  held  up  by 
poles.  The  women  can  take  these  tents  down  in 
a  few  minutes  when  they  want  to  find  a  better 
hunting  ground. 


14  FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS   HISTORY, 

If  I  were  a  hunter,  I  tliink  I  would  pitch  my 
tent  here  in  Texas.  The  prairie  is  full  of  noisy 
wild  birds.  Geese  and  other  flocks  fly  here  and 
there,  crying,  "Conk,  conk,"  as  they  fly.  Cranes 
march  over  the  plains.  Prairie  chickens  rise  on 
the  wing.     There  are  many  blackbirds. 

[Draw  a  wigwam.] 

INDIANS. 

An  Indian  mamma  tells  her  little  boy :  "If  you 
go  on  the  warpath,  do  not  turn  around  when  you 
have  gone  part  way,  but  go  on  as  far  as  you  were 
going  and  then  come  back.  I  would  not  cry  if  I 
were  to  hear  that  you  had  been  killed  in  battle. 
This  is  what  makes  a  man,  to  fight  and  to  be 
brave.     Love  your  friend  and  never  desert  him." 

Indians  have  odd  names.  Peace  Maker,  Skin 
Shirt,  Dull  Knife,  and  Lone  Wolf  are  men's 
names. 

An  Indian  is  quiet  in  peace;  in  war  his  eyes 
beam  and  he  moves  quickly.  Wlien  they  want  to 
make  signs  to  each  other  across  the  prairie,  they 
pile  up  wet  and  dry  grass  and  set  it  on  fire.     A 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 


15 


smoke  in  a  little  while  goes  up  into  the  air  with 
a  puff. 

When    they   come    home   from   a    buffalo   hunt 
thev  have  a  dance.     A  fire  is  made  in  the  middle 


TEX.IS  RAXGERS  TRAILIXG  IXniAXS. 

of  a  piece  of  ground.  Their  faces  and  their 
bodies  are  painted.  The  chief  dances  up  and 
f^own  singing  to  tlie  music  of  a  gourd  filled  with 
rocks;  tlien  all  join  liands  and  dance  around. 
Thev  make   signs   to   show   all   that   thev   do   in 


16  FOOTPRINTS    OF    "EX AS   HISTORY. 

the  chase, — the  run  after  the  game,  shooting  of 
guns,    nid    fall   \g   of    bulls.      At   last   they   all 
march  ;.  jund        if  the>  were  loaded  with  game. 
The-       ear  s'  '>f  heads  in  their  noses  and 

ears.  ey    h    .  corn    in   holes    in    the 

ground      '^'he  re  .  :      ^^.-i-s  that  a  great  spiri''- 
sits  bej     d  the  cloi  's  '  hes  over  his  ar- 

V. 

rows  as  ^'    y  fly. 

Indii:  are  cm  lays  to  get 
to  atta-  a  place,  _  of  drink- 
ing: m.    be   thai  .as  let  them  be 

driven  o^t  from  i'.'    •  x^.g' grounds. 

J  r;  "r- 

Thev      )  not  Ae'r-  children.     If  the  little 

ones    do    wrong,    ■.      ictimes   their   mothers   black 

their  faces  and  s;     I  l.iem  out  of  the  tent.    When 

this  is  done,  they  can  not  eat  until  it  is  waslied 

off;  at  times  they  are  kept  a  whole  day  in  this 

way.     ^^hey  love  their  little  children. 

The   children    are   polite   to   their   papas    and 

mammas  anu  all  older  people.     fThe  women  have 

all  the  work  to  do.     Indians  can  hear  and  see 

better  than  you  can.     The  Texas  Indians  like  to 

ride.     They  are  good  horsemen. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  17 

BOWS  AND  AEEOWS. 

r 

I.  • 

You  know  that  the  bow?  f^'.      irrov     made  by 

you  boys  are  not  very  str*  ,  ;1iey  v,       not  even 

kill  a  small  animal.  n  with  .      bow  can 

.u  !)  J      . 

send  an  arrow  thi  ..>rse  or  a  i  ■ ..  . 

'     The  Indian  i'-^^:  ""'    son  in  life,    '•  to  shoot 

with  a  bo-".  ■  '>mall  bo^       :th  blunt 

arroAvs,  r  '        ,        ""^^  ^^  ^-      '"'^• 

Bv  and  i^  .'  all  arrow-  ,>ints,  and 

■-■[   boi,.'    7i!""    ■•"    ^  vp 

with  these  he  bii^.  '  '      .        squirrr  .;.     As  he 

■  ','      .i/f  'li-t.  '•. 

grows  older  he  is  given  '         -'^l:  bow,     'd  at  last 

the  strong  bow. 

Let  me  tell  you  how  ■''o  ke  a  good  bow  and 
arrow.  The  rods  must  be  cUt  at  the  right  time; 
that  is,  late  in  the  fall  when  the  wood  is  hard. 

The  sticks  are  as  thick  as  your  little  finger. 
They  are  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
wrapped  witli  skin.  This  keeps  them  from  bend- 
ing. Tlie  sticuj  a^e  then  hui  ■  nn  over  the  fire 
to  be  dried.  After  two  weeks  the  bark  is  taken 
oif.  Then  they  must  be  cut  the  same  length.  A 
little  gutter  is  made  in  all  arrows,  to  let  the  blood 
run   out.      The   arroAv-head   is   made   of   steel   or 


IS  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY, 

stone.  It  is  shaped  like  a  heart.  The  sides  are 
cut  out  like  saw  teeth.  The  arrows  are  sold  to 
the  Indians  for  furs. 

The  wood  is  Avrapped  to  the  arrow-head  with 
deer  skin,  which  has  heen  made  soft  in  water. 

Then  the  feathers  are  put  on.  They  are  pulled 
from  the  quill  and  put  on  the  shaft  of  the  arrow. 
Three  feathers  are  put  on  each  shaft.  The  arrow 
is  painted  and  then  it  is  ready  for  use.  It  takes 
an  Indian  a  day  to  make  an  arrow  for  which  he 
gets  ten  cents. 

BOWS    AND   ARROWS. 

II. 

Would  you  like  to  know  how  the  Indian  poi- 
sons his  arrows? 

A  rattlesnake  is  made  to  put  his  fangs  into 
the  liver  of  a  deer  while  it  is  warm.  The  arrow- 
heads are  put  into  the  liver  and  left  there  for 
half  an  hour,  when  they  are  drawn  out  and  laid 
in  the  sun  to  dry.  A  thin  yellow  scum  sticks  to 
the  arrow,  and  it  if  liut  so  much  as  touches  the 
skin  it  poisons. 

The  Indians  carried  these  arrows  in  the  skins 
of   rattlesnakes,    and   they   were   very   careful   of 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTOEY.  19 

them,  but  sometimes  horses,  dogs,  and  children 
would  get  them.  So  at  last  the  Indians  would 
not  use  them.. 

A  liver  and  many  arrows  were  packed  on  a 
pony  called  a  "dead  horse." 

The  bow  is  four  feet  long  and  one  inch  wide. 
When  the  bow  is  to  be  used,  the  man  sets  the  end 
to  which  the  string  is  made  fast,  on  the  ground, 
and  then  bends  down  the  other  end  until  the  loop 
slips  into  the  notch.  This  is  called  stringing  the 
bow. 

The  wood  used  in  making  bows  is  ash,  hickory, 
elm,  and  cedar. 

[Draw  a  bow  and  an  arrow.] 

BIG  FOOT. 

Big  Foot  was  an  Indian  chief.  This  name  was 
given  to  him  because  men  could  trace  him  by  the 
size  of  his  footprints.  He  was  a  Waco  Indian. 
He  used  to  go  into  a  town  and  steal  the  horses. 

One  time  Captain  Eoss  and  three  men  were 
riding  along,  when  they  came  to  a  hill.  Looking 
back  they  saw  Big  Foot  and  four  other  Indians. 
Ross  said :     "A  horseman  comes  this  way  riding 


20  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

like  the  wind  !  He  has  turned  !  How  he  rides ! 
See  him  wave  his  arms  and  hear  him  yell !  Let 
us  overtake  him !"  Off  they  went  and  caught  up 
with  him ! 

It  had  been  raining  for  days  and  the  guns  were 
wet.  So  not  a  gun  was  fired,  not  an  arrow  was 
shot,  and  yet  they  got  back  all  the  horses,  and  all 
the  Indians  were  killed. 

A  few  days  after,  the  whole  tribe  came  to  Eoss' 
house.  lie  was  sick.  His  little  son,  who  was 
years  afterwards  Governor,  went  out  and  asked 
them  what  they  wanted,  and  they  said  they  wanted 
watermelons.  He  showed  them  th^  way  to  the 
patch,  and  they  took  some  melons  and  went  away. 

At  that  time  tliey  killed  many  people  all  around 
Austin,  tlie  Caj)ital  of  our  State.  They  ran  after 
a  man  named  AVilliam  Barton,  who  lived  across 
the  river  from  Austin  at  the  spring  which  bears 
his  name.  Finding  they  were  going  to  catch  up 
with  him,  he  stopped  on  top  of  a  hill  and  made 
a  sign  as  if  he  were  calling  to  some  one  to  come 
and  lielp  him.  The  Indians  stopped.  Tlien  he 
ran  home. 


BIG    FOOT      WALLACE. 


22  FOOTPRINTS  OF  TEXAS  HISTORY. 

"BIG  FOOT"  WALLACE. 

One  night  the  Big  Foot  Indian  came  to  x4us- 
tin,  and  stole  something  from  a  man  named 
Gravis,  and  then  went  to  the  cabin  of  Fox  and 
Wallace. 

The  next  morning,  Gravis  trailed  the  Indian 
to  the  doorstep  of  Wallace,  and  waked  Wallace 
up  and  told  him  he  had  been  stealing.  Wallace 
wore  moccasins  and  made  a  big  track.  But  he 
was  so  angry  at  Gravis  that  he  was  about  to  whip 
him  on  the  spot,  and  made  a  grab  at  him.  Gravis 
got  out  of  the  way  and  told  him  to  show  that  he 
did  not  do  it. 

Wallace  said  he  could  do  that,  and  at  once  went 
to  the  Indian's  track  and  put  his  foot  in  it  with 
the  moccasin  on  and  made  Gravis  come  up  close 
enough  to  look  at  it,  and  showed  him  how  much 
longer  the  Indian's  track  was  than  his.  So 
Gravis  begged  pardon  and  walked  off. 

Fox  came  to  the  door  and  saw  the  whole  thing, 
and  while  Wallace  was  standing  in  the  Indian's 
track  he  laughed  and  said:  "ISTow,  Wallace,  when 
the  Big  Foot  Indian  is  not  around,  we  will  call 
you  'Big  Foot.' "     Others  took  up  the  name,  and 


FOOTPEINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY.  23 

SO  when  some  one  would  say  something  about  Big 
Foot  another  would  ask,  "Which  do  you  mean, 
the  Indian  or  'Big  Foot'  Wallace  ?" 

Fox  was  one  day  hoeing  some  corn,  when  Big 
Foot,  the  Indian,  shot  him  from  the  fence.  Wal- 
lace then  tried  to  kill  the  Indian. 

WALLACE'S  DOGS. 

AVallace  had  four  dogs  of  which  he  thought  a 
great  deal.  Their  names  were  Eock,  Ring,  Speck, 
and  Bias.  Rock  was  his  Indian  dog.  Wallace 
could  always  tell  by  the  way  he  barked  when  In- 
dians were  around. 

When  it  was  night,  Wallace  would  take  his 
blanket  and  gun  and  dogs  and  stay  in  a  thicket 
near  by  until  morning.  The  dogs  would  lie  down 
by  him  without  making  any  noise. 

One  time  Rock  gave  the  sign  of  Indians  just 
before  day,  and  Wallace  took  his  gun  and 
watched.  He  called  the  dogs  out  to  see  if  they 
could  find  the  trail.  He  soon  heard  them  barking 
loudly.  Coming  to  the  spot  he  saw  an  Indian 
down  in  a  gully  and  the  dogs  around  him. 

He  was  keeping  the  dogs  from  taking  hold  of 


24  FOOTPraNTs  of  texas  history. 

him  by  throwing  his  blanket  over  their  heads. 
Wallace  raised  his  gun  to  shoot,  but  he  saw  the 
Indian  had  no  arms,  and,  calling  the  dogs  off, 
made  signs  for  the  Indian  to  come  up.  He  had 
a  small  knife,  and  that  was  broken.  He  had  no 
arms  to  kill  game,  and  be  was  nearly  starved.  He 
had  broken  his  knife  trying  to  open  a  terrapin. 
Wallace  took  him  to  his  cabin,  gave  him  all  he 
could  eat,  and  left  the  dogs  to  watch  him. 

CYNTHIA  ANN  PAEKEE. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Parker,  with  nine  other 
families,  had  come  out  to  Texas  and  built  a  fort; 
that  is,  all  the  cabins  had  a  wall  ten  or  twelve 
fee  high  outside  to  make  them  safe. 

Early  one  morning,  about  two  or  three  hun- 
dred Indians  came  to  see  them.  They  held  up  a 
white  flag  when  near,  as  if  they  were  friendly, 
and  asked  where  they  could  find  a  water  hole  and 
a  nice  camping  place,  saying  they  were  hungry 
and  wanted  some  fresh  beef. 

Mr.  Parker  was  afraid  not  to  do  what  they 
wanted  him  to  do,  so  he  went  out  to  see  them. 
When   he    came   back   he  said   he  thought   they 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 


25 


wanted  to  fight,  but  he  would  go  again  and  try- 
to  make  friends.  As  soon  as  he  got  among  them 
they  killed  him.  Their  first  taste  of  blood  made 
them  want  more. 

They  took  the  fort.     Most  of  the  men  had  gone 


to  the  fields  to  work.  There  were  fifteen  children 
and  ten  women.  They  took  mothers  from  their 
children.  They  made  Mrs.  Parker  put  her  little 
girl,  Cynthia  Ann,  nine  years  old,  and  her  son 
John  behind  two  Indians  on  horseback.  A  man 
from  the  fort  soon  took  Mrs.  Parker  from  them. 


26  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

One  tribe  took  John,  who  got  awa:y  in  a  few 
months;  another  took  Cynthia  Ann,  who  lived 
with  them  twenty- five  years. 

That  night  the  Indians  put  their  prisoners  in 
the  center  of  a  ring  and  had  a  dance. 

Cynthia  Ann  grew  up  with  the  little  Indian 
girls  and  boys,  waiting  on  the  squaws;  in  time 
she  seemed  to  forget  all  about  her  own  people. 
If  the  white  men  and  Indians  were  fighting,  she 
would  run  from  the  wliites  just  as  the  others  did. 

Some  white  men  tried  to  get  her  to  say  if  she 
wanted  to  go  back  home,  but  she  would  not  say  a 
word.  When  she  grew  up  she  married  an  Indian 
chief.  She  seemed  to  be  happy,  with  her  children 
playing  around  her,  and  waiting  on  the  big  chief. 

Covernor  T?oss  was  figliting  with  the  Indians 
at  Pease  Eiver,  and  took  some  of  them.  Cynthia 
Ann  was  among  those  he  caught.  Looking  at  her, 
he  saw  she  had  bine  eyes,  1)ut  was  as  dark  as  an 
Indian.  He  found  out  lier  story,  and  took  her 
and  her  children  among  white  ])eople;  but  she 
never  secuK^d  happy.  She  died  in  a  few  years. 
She  missed  the  wild  life. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  27 

lEON  JACKET. 

The  Comanches  were  fighting  Indians.  They 
fought  so  much  that  no  one  was  safe.  So  the 
State  sent  a  hundred  men  and  some  friendly  In- 
dians to  try  to  take  the  camp  of  Iron  Jacket,  the 
Comanche  chief. 

He  was  called  Iron  Jacket  because  he  wore  a 
coat  made  of  iron.  The  Indians  said  that  he 
could  not  be  killed  by  the  bullet  of  the  white  man. 
He  would  fight  in  the  front. 

The  camp  was  found  by  some  Indians  with  our 
men,  and  taken  by  surprise.  Iron  Jacket  fought 
hard.     The  bullets  did  not  seem  to  hurt  him. 

At  last  a  shot  from  Eoss  killed  him.  Ross  took 
all  the  horses,  men,  and  other  things  at  Iron 
Jacket's  camp;  among  them  was  his  little  son 
ISTopo,  whom  the  Ross  family  kept. 

[Colorado  means  red.  Ask  your  teacher  to  tell 
you  the  meaning  of  some  other  Indian  names.] 


IRON   JACKET. 


FOOTPRINTS   OF    TEXAS   HISTORY.  29 

PUT^^AM  CHILDREN^. 

One  bright  day  Matilda  Lockhart,  James  Put- 
nam and  his  two  sisters  went  to  the  river  to  get 
pecans.  For  some  time  they  picked  up  the  nuts, 
and  their  merry  laughter  rang  out  through  the 
forest. 

At  last  it  was  time  to  go  home.  Their  baskets 
were  full  of  nuts  and  they  were  hungry  for  din- 
ner. They  took  up  baskets  and  bonnets  and  ran 
to  the  end  of  the  prairie. 

But  what  a  sight  now  met  those  merry  eyes ! 
The  laughing  voices  were  hushed  and  the  cheeks 
were  pale  with  fear.  There  rode  up  a  band  of 
wild,  painted  Indians. 

The  poor  little  ones  could  not  get  away.  With 
a  wild  cry  tlie  Indians  ran  around  them,  and 
reaching  from  their  horses,  grabbed  the  scream- 
ing children,  and  holding  them  in  front,  ran  away 
to  the  woods. 

A^^ien  the  children  did  not  come  home  their 
mammas  and  papas  became  afraid.  They  l)egan 
to  search  among  the  pecan  trees  for  them.  The 
smallest  child  was  only  six  years  old.  When  they 
came  to  the  spot  where  the  children  were  taken, 


30  FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

oh,  how  they  felt !  A  bonnet  here,  a  bonnet  there, 
a  basket  turned  over  and  pecans  scattered  all 
about,  told  them  the  story. 

On  the  ground  lay  little  Jimmy's  hat.  The 
ground  was  torn  up  by  the  horses'  hoofs.  They 
knew  too  well  what  had  become  of  their  little 
ones.  No  time  was  to  be  lost.  They  ran  back  and 
got  a  few  men  and  were  soon  on  the  trail  of  the 
Indians.  The  trail  led  up  the  river  and  was  hard 
to  keep,  as  the  country  was  rough. 

Once  where  the  Indians  stopped  the  tracks  of 
the  children  could  be  seen  in  the  sand.  This 
was  near  New  Braunfels.  Here  they  had  to  give 
up  the  hunt  until  they  could  get  more  men. 

After  a  while  they  came  to  an  Indian  camp.  A 
spy  found  out  that  the  children  were  there.  The 
papas  could  hardly  keep  from  going  to  get  them. 
They  shot  into  the  camp  as  soon  as  it  was  light. 
An  Indian  gave  a  loud  yell.  Our  m'en  made  a 
rush  to  fight  their  way  to  the  middle  of  the  camp 
where  the  children  were. 

There  were  only  a  few  wliite  men,  but  they 
fought  hard.  More  Indians  kept  coming  in. 
Loud  yells  filled  the  air,  arrows  fiew  on  every  side, 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  31 

tomahawks  were  raised  on  high.  Our  men  had  to 
give  up  trying  to  get  their  little  children. 

After  a  long  time  tW'O  of  the  children  were 
hought  for  some  beads.  One  girl  became  the  w'ife 
of  a  chief  and  would  not  leave.  She  wanted  to 
spend  the  rest  of  her  life  as  an  Indian. 

Years  after  a  white  man  bought  an  old  woman 
from  the  Indians  and  brought  her  to  his  home  to 
live.  She  could  not  tell  her  name  or  where  she 
liad  been  taken  from  b}^  the  Indians.  When  they 
came  to  the  river  she  said  she  thought  she  had 
seen  that  country  before.  James  Putnam,  who 
lived  near  there,  was  sent  for  to  see  if  this  was 
his  sister.  He  knew  her  by  a  scar  on  one  of  her 
arms. 

WHAT  THE  INDIAN^S  THOUGHT  OF  RED 
HAIR. 

Henry  Karnes  was  a  man  who  made  his  living 
by  catching  wild  animals  in  traps  and  selling 
their  fur. 

He  liked  to  fight  with  the  Indians;  that  was 
wliy  he  came  to  Texas.  He  was  a  spy ;  Deaf 
Smith  was  a  friend  of  his. 


32       FOOTPRINTS  OF  TEXAS  HISTORY. 

One  time  when  lie  was  fi,2:hlinf^  with  aa  Indian 
cliief  he  was  hurt  and  taken  to  their  camp. 
Strange  to  say,  they  neither  killed  nor  ate  him 
up,  as  he  had  thought  they  would  do.  They  liked 
him  and  were  kind  to  him. 

His  red  hair,  which  they  thought  was  painted, 
made  them  think  he  was  a  great  doctor. 

They  tried  to  take  his  red  hair  away.  Taking 
him  to  the  water,  they  put  him  under  the  water 
to  wash  the  red  from  liis  hair.  They  came  near 
di owning  him.  When  the  red  would  not  come 
off,  the.y  thouglit  he  was  some  man  sent  down  hy 
the  Great  Spii'it. 

BOWIE'S   Bl^OTPIER'S    STORY   OF   AX 
IXDIAX  FIGHT. 


Wo  met  two  Indians  near  San  Sal)a.  After 
smoking  and  talking  with  them  an  hour  and  giv- 
ing them  some  tohacco  and  shot,  they  went  away. 

AYe  camped  at  night.  The  next  morning  a 
Mexican  came  to  our  camp  to  tell  us  his  chief  had 
sent  word  that  the  Indians  were  after  us.     The 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  33 

Mexican  let  us  see  his  chief's  silver  medal  to  show- 
he  was  telling  the  truth. 

The  roads  were  full  of  rocks, '  which  hurt  our 
horses'  feet.  We  wanted  to  reach  the  fort.  In 
the  evening  we  camped  under  some  trees.  We 
got  ready  for  the  night  by  cutting  a  road  inside 
the  thicket  of  bushes.     We  put  guards  out. 

The  next  morning  we  started  for  the  fort.  The 
Indians  were  on  our  trail  to  the  east,  not  far 
aw^ay.  An  Indian  footm.an,  a  little  ahead  of  the 
others,  with  his  face  to  the  ground,  was  tracking. 
The  cr}^  of  Indians  w^as  given,  and  all  hands  to 
arms.  We  got  down  and  made  our  horses  fast 
to  the  trees.  The  Indians  gave  the  w^ar  whoop 
and  halted. 

Their  number  w^as  so  many  more  than  ours,  I 
was  sent  out  to  talk  with  them  and  try  to  keep 
peace.     I  walked  up  near  them  and  said : 

"Send  out  your  chief;  I  want  to  talk  with  him." 

Their  answ^er  was,  "How  de  do  ?"  and  they  shot 
at  us.  Bowie  fired  back.  They  then  opened  a 
heavy  fire  upon  us.  ^Mien  they  found  their  shot 
did  not  bring  Bowie  down,  eight  Indians,  on  foot, 
took  after  liim  with  their  tomahawks,  and  when 


34  FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

near  him  our  men  killed  four  of  them.  Then  the 
other  four  went  back.  All  was  still  for  about  five 
minutes. 

The  Indians  ran  up  the  hill  and  began  to  shoot 
their  arrows  from  behind  trees,  rocks  and  bushes. 
Another  chief  came  up  near  the  spot  where  the 
last  one   fell. 

Bowie  fired  and  the  chief  fell  from  his  horse. 

Some  Indians  came  up  behind  us  and  began  to 
fire.  They  made  a  ring  around  us.  We  had  to 
leaA^e  the  trees  and  take  to  the  thickets.  We  shot 
down  most  of  the  men  under  the  bank  of  the 
creek,  because  we  could  see  them  when  they  could 
not  see  us. 

The  road  we  had  cut  around  the  thicket  the 
night  before  helped  us  to  see  them,  while  we  were 
hid.  We  moved  six  or  eight  feet  as  soon  as  we 
fired,  so  their  only  mark  was  the  smoke  of  our 
guns.     In  this  way  we  fought  two  hours. 

II. 

Thev  found  out  that  they  could  not  run  us  out 
of  the  thicket.  They  put  fire  to  the  dry  grass  to 
try  to  burn  us  out.     . 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY.  35 

We  kept  a  watch  all  around.  One  of  the  In- 
dians crawled  down  the  creek  and  put  fire  to  the 
^rass  around  us;  but  before  he  could  get  back  he 
was  killed. 

At  this  time  we  saw  no  way  of  getting  out,  as 
the  fire  was  coming  down  to  the  spot  where  we 
were.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  Must  we  be  burned 
up,  or  driven  into  the  prairie  among  the  red  men  ? 
To  make  it  M^orse  their  shouts  filled  the  air.  As 
soon  as  the  smoke  hid  us  we  planned  what  was 
best  to  be  done. 

We  thought  that  if  they  came  upon  us  we  would 
give  them  one  fire,  place  our  backs  together,  draw 
our  knives,  and  fight  them  as  long  as  any  one  of 
us  was  left  alive. 

It  was  now  sundown  and  we  had  been  fighting 
since  sunrise;  and  they,  seeing  us  still  alive  and 
ready  to  fight,  drew  off  and  camped  for  the  night. 
All  night  long  we  could  hear  the  Indians  crying 
over  their  dead. 

The  next  morning  they  left,  carrying  their  dead 

with  them. 


36  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

BLACK  JIM  BOWIE. 

Bowie  and  some  men  were  out  hunting  for  gold 
and  silver.  They  piled  up  rocks  to  make  their 
camp  safe.  Thev  could  see  anyone  coming  a  long 
way  off.     1'he  camp  was  near  a  spring. 

One  morning  some  Indians  came  up.  Bowie 
and  the  men  went  into  the  camp.  Soon  they  be- 
gan to  fight.  The  Indians  fired  from  beliind 
rocks,  trees,  and  bushes. 

The  iight  lasted  all  day.  Through  tlie  day, 
Bowie's  men  drank  up  all  their  water.  The  In- 
dians would  see  them  if  they  went  to  the  spring. 

Bowie  had  a  young  negro  named  Jim. 

"Jim,"  said  Bowie,  "I  want  you  to  take  the 
canteens  and  bring  us  some  water  from  the 
spring." 

"No,  sah,  ]\Iarp.  Jim,  couldn't  think  of  such  a 
thing.  Dem  old  Injuns  is  layin'  dah  in  dem 
rocks  and  brushes  and  they  can  git  up  from  dah 
and  kill  dis  nigger  'fo  you  could  say  scat  twice, 
and  'fo  I  conld  half  fill  dem  canteens.  No,  sah ; 
can't  go." 

Bowie   looked   at   the   negro   and   said;     "Jim, 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  37 

Arhich  are  3-011  the  most  afraid  of,  me  or  those 
Indians  ?" 

"Well,  now,"  says  Jim,  "if  you  'sist  on  me 
going^,  den  I'll  go.  Hunt  up  dem  canteens.  I'm 
off." 

Bowie  told  Jim  he  need  not  be  afraid.  He 
filled  the  canteens  and  was  coming  back  before 
the  Indians  saw  him.  They  began  to  yell.  Jim 
ran  as  well  as  he  could  with  the  canteens  dan- 
gling alxDut  him.  The  Indians  ran  after  him. 
Bowie's  gun  killed  some  of  them.  All  ran  back 
but  one,  who  dropped  his  empty  gun,  and  pulling 
out  his  tomahawk  ran  close  to  Jim. 

Jim  now  sang  out,  "0  Mars.  Jim !  Shoot  dis 
Injun  here.     He  gwine  to  hurt  somebody  here." 

A  man  from  the  camp  shot  and  the  Indian  fell 
back  so  suddenly  that  his  feet  flew  up  into  the 
air.  Jim,  who  was  running  and  watching  the 
Indian  at  the  same  time,  shouted  out:  "Never 
mind,  now,  Mars.  Jim.  Mars.  Bob  done  knock 
his  heels  higher'n  his  head." 

Jim  soon  came  into  the  fort,  puffing  and  blow- 
ing, but  unhurt,  and  bringing  all  the  canteens 
with  him. 


38  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

"N'ow,  Mi'.rs.  Jim,"  he  said  between  breaths, 
"make  dis  water  go  fur  as  possible.  It  won't  take 
much  mo'  dis  kind  o'  work  to  be  one  nigger  less 
in  his  big  round  world.  De  wool  liked  a  flew  dat 
time.  All  dat  kept  dat  ugly  Injun  from  puttin' 
dat  hatchet  on  my  head  cause  Mars.  Bob  hold  him 
load  back  and  make  de  bullet  come  straight.  Ha, 
ha,  ha !  You  orter  hear  him  grunt  when  dat  piece 
lead  took  him  kerchug." 

LA  SALLE. 

La  Salle,  when  a  boy,  liked  to  travel.  When  he 
talked  about  finding  a  great  river  people  said, 
"Tie  is  crazy:  his  head  is  touched."  What  is  the 
name  of  the  great  river? 

While  he  was  hunting  for  this  river  he  came  to 
Texas.  He  came  from  France  many  miles  across 
the  ocean.  He  had  a  hard  time  getting  the  King 
of  France  to  let  him  go.  He  fitted  out  four  ships 
to  go  by  sea  to  the  mouth  of  the  gi-eat  river. 
They  sailed  with  300  men  and  women.  One  of 
his  ships  full  of  things  was  sunk. 

They  landed  safely.     La  Salle  put  up  camps, 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  39 

and  sent  out  men  to  see  where  they  had  landed. 
It  was  pleasant  for  the  men  to  see  green  trees; 
they  had  heen  on  the  water  so  long.  La  Salle 
helped  them  to  cut  down  trees  and  to  lay  the  logs 
for  the  houses. 

He  took  the  new  land  in  the  name  of  France. 
The  country  was  full  of  wild  game.  The  Indians 
they  met  seemed  to  be  friendly.  But  after  a  while 
they  killed  two  of  the  men. 

Before  long  food  gave  out.  The  men  grew  un- 
happy. They  did  not  like  La  Salle,  for  they 
thought  he  was  too  proud.  Some  of  them  sailed 
away  to  France  and  took  all  the  cannon  balls, 
leaving  him  with  eight  useless  cannon. 

There  was  one  man  he  could  trust.  That  was 
Tonti,  of  the  "iron  hand."  He  lost  his  hand  in  a 
fight.  He  wore  a  glove.  The  Indians  were  afraid 
of  that  iron  hand. 

La  Salle  had  left  him  with  a  few  of  the  men. 
Now  he  wanted  to  find  him.  They  were  in  great 
need  of  food.  All  the  ships  sent  to  help  them 
were  lost.  They  had  a  hard  time  finding  Tonti. 
They  had  to  swim  the  rivers,  which  were  up ;  they 


40  rOOTPRIXTS   OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

went   through    dark    forests;   they   fought   many- 
Indians. 

There  was  one  tribe  of  Indians  the  others  were 
afraid  of.  La  Salle  drew  pictures  on  the  trees  as 
they  went  along,  like  this  bad  tribe.  Other  In- 
dians saw  these  and  were  afraid  to  follow  him. 

La  SaJle  was  sick  with  fever  for  a  long  time. 
He  stayed  in  a  wigwam.  The  Indians  were  very 
kind  to  him.  One  time  they  made  some  stones 
hot  and  brought  them  into  the  wigwam,  then  put 
water  on  them,  so  that  he  could  have  a  steam 
bath.     This  made  him  much  better. 

La  Salle's  men  wore  rawhide  shoes,  which  they 
had  to  keep  wet,  as  they  became  hard  about  the 
foot.  Deer  skin,  which  they  sometimes  bought 
from  the  Indians,  made  nice  moccasins. 

In  one  of  La  Salle's  trips  toward  the  north  in 
search  of  the  GTeat  Eiver,  snow  and  sleet  beat 
down  upon  them.  The  country  was  covered  with 
snow.  When  they  came  to  the  open  prairies  the 
white  snow  looked  so  bright  that  La  Salle  and 
some  of  the  men  became  snow-blind.  They 
camped  near  a  forest,  and  here  La  Salle  stayed 
for  three  days.  He  could  not  see  at  all.  His  eyes 
hurt  him  verv  much. 


42  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

The  SDOW  began  to  melt ;  the  rivers  were  opened  ; 
the  blind  men  could  see ;  and,  putting  their  canoes 
in  the  water,  they  went  on. 

Tonti  Avas  never  found.  A  bad  man  got  I,a 
Salle  in  the  woods  by  himself  and  shot  him.  This 
man  then  took  command  of  the  others.  Tonti 
waited  long  for  the  brave  La  Salle  to  come.  Some 
Indians  came  and  told  him  that  La  Salle  was 
dead.  He  felt  so  sorry  that  he  could  not  keep 
from  crying. 

[Find  some  rivers  in  Texas  on  the  map.] 
BEAN. 

When  but  a  boy,  Bean  came  to  Texas  with 
Nolan,  to  catch  wild  horses.  Before  they  had 
gone  far  some  Mexicans  caught  them.  Xolan  was 
killed  and  liis  men  taken  prisoners. 

Bean  did  not  want  to  give  up,  but  the  Mexicans 
promised  they  would  let  them  go.  They  were 
chained  two  and  two  and  sent  to  San  Antonio, 
then  to  the  Jl\o  Grande,  and  into  Mexico.  From 
one  prison  to  anotlier  they  were  moved. 

Bean  would  do  anvtliinij  to  make  monev.     At 


FOOTPEIXTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  43 

one  place  he  made  shoes.  He  made  hats  at  an- 
other place,  and  made  such  good  hats  that  he  got 
all  the  trade. 

He  learned  that  they  must  have  some  one  to 
blast  rocks,  and  he  did  that  for  a  while.  He  ran 
away  from  his  guard,  but  he  was  soon  taken  back. 
One  day  he  hid  in  an  empty  barrel  on  a  ship,  but 
the  cook  found  him. 

K"ow  he  was  put  into  a  dark  cell,  where  he  had 
been  before.  What  do  you  think  was  there  to  see 
liim  ?    A  white  lizard,  which  he  had  made  a  pet  of. 

Six  years  after  this  an  order  came  for  every 
fifth  man  to  be  shot.  By  this  time  only  five  men 
were  alive.  They  threw  dice  to  tell  which  one 
should  die.     The  oldest  man  was  shot. 

Bean  was  the  only  one  of  the  others  who  saw 
the  light  of  day.  He  was  turned  out  because  he 
promised  to  go  to  tlie  Mexican  army.  He  did  for 
a  while,  and  then  got  away. 

Bean  fought  in  the  Texas  army  vrith  Lafitte, 
and  he  was  a  good  friend  of  Houston. 

[An  ocean  is  the  largest  body  of  water.  A  gulf 
is  an  arm  of  an  ocean.  A  bay  is  an  arm  of  a  gulf. 
What  gulf  and  ocean  are  near  Texas?] 


44  FOOTPTIIXTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

A  BOLD  PIRATE. 

When  Lafitte  was  small  he  ran  away  from  home 
on  a  ship.  TEis  father  brought  him  back.  He  ran 
away  a  second  time,  and  never  came  home  any 
more.     He  became  a  pirate. 

A  pirate  is  one  who  robs  a  ship. 

At  last  he  came  to  Galveston.  There  he  lived 
like  a  great  man.  There  were  nearly  a  thousand 
men  Avith  him.  They  had  many  fast  ships  which 
would  sail  over  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  take  othei 
ships.  These  bold  men  wauld  steal  the  silks,  car* 
pets,  wines,  gold,  and  beautiful  skins  of  wild  ani. 
mals. 

All  the  goods  were  spread  out  when  they  got  to 
the  landing  and  divided  among  the  men.  Lafitte 
was  not  stingy;  he  would  take  only  a  little  for 
himself.  Ships  came  in  full  of  negroes,  who  were 
driven  into  the  fort  and  sold. 

All  the  men  loved  Lafitte.  He  lived  in  a  fine 
house  called  the  "Red  House." 

The  Indians  did  not  like  to  see  these  strange 
men  with  ships  and  cannon  come  and  take  their 
nice  fis-hing  place.  In  a  little  while  they  had  a 
quarrel,  and  some  of  Lafitte's  men  were  killed. 


46  FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

The  Indians,  when  they  came  over,  camped  at 
the  "Three  Trees."  When  Lafitte  found  it  out, 
he  began  to  fight  them.  They  fought  two  or  three 
days.  The  Indians  had  to  give  up.  This  was  the 
battle  of  "Three  Trees." 

A  man  by  the  name  of  I^ong  came  to  the  island 
and  wanted  Lafitte  to  help  get  people  to  come  to 
Texas.     Lafitte  would  not  help  him. 

So  Long  left  liis  wife  and  some  men  at  a  place 
near  Galveston  and  went  to  Goliad.  All  of  the 
men  soon  got  tired  of  waiting  and  left  Mrs.  Long. 
She  would  not  go  with  them,  because  she  had  told 
her  husband  she  would  stay.  Her  two  little  chil- 
dren and  a  negi'o  girl  were  with  her.  Summer 
and  winter  went  by.  Slie  did  not  hear  from  him. 
She  had  no  food.  The  Indians  would  come,  and 
she  Avould  shoot  tliem  herself.  She  only  left  when 
she  heard  her  husband  was  dead. 

THE  TEEASUEE. 

These  pirates  took  our  ships,  so  the  Governor 
said  he  would  give  $500  for  their  leader's  head. 
This  was  posted  up  all  around.  But  Lafitte 
wanted  to  get  even,  so  lie  said  he  would  give 
$5000  for  the  Governor's  head. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  47 

After  a  little  while  he  was  ordered  to  leave  the 
island.  He  called  his  men,  gave  them  each  some 
money,  and  having  set  fire  to  his  fort,  sailed  away 
in  a  ship  called  "The  Pride." 

Some  say  Lafitte  buried  a  lot  of  money  and 
fine  things  on  the  island,  but  they  have  never 
been  found. 

Wen  go  there  and  dig  for  them.  It  is  said  that 
one  time  they  dug  up  a  great  iron  chest ;  but  just 
as  they  were  about  to  lift  it  out,  some  one  spoke, 
and  it  fell  back.  It  can  only  be  taken  out  in 
silence. 

One  story  says  that  on  the  night  he  left  the 
island  forever,  he  was  heard  to  say,  as  he  walked 
up  and  down  the  hall  of  the  "Red  House" :  "I 
have  buried  my  treasure  under  the  'Three  Trees.' 
In  the  shadow  of  the  three  lone  trees  I  have 
buried  my  treasure."  Two  of  his  men  who  were 
standing  outside  in  the  dark  heard  him. 

They  stole  away  down  the  beach  with  spades 
and  picks.  Their  leader's  treasure  must  be  very 
great,  and  they  wanted  it.  They  reached  the  spot. 
In  the  pale  moonlight  they  shoveled  away  the 
sand. 

At  last  they  found  a  long  wooden  box.     They 


48  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

opened  it.  Witliin.  instead  of  piles  of  gold  and 
silver^  they  saw  the  pale  face  and  form  of  the 
chief's  beautiful  young  wife,  who  had  died  the 
day  before.     This  was  the  treasure  of  Lafitte. 

[An  island  is  land  surrounded  by  water.  Draw 
one.  "VVTiat  large  island  is  off  the  coast  of  Texas? 
Tell  about  the  storm  of  1900.] 

THE  FATHER  OF  TEXAS. 

Moses  Austin  came  to  Texas  to  ask  if  he  might 
bring  some  people  here  to  live.  They  said  he 
might.  He  went  back  home.  On  the  way  he  was 
robbed.     He  lived  for  days  on  nuts. 

This  was  in  winter.  He  was  out  in  the  cold  so 
much  that  he  died.  He  left  a  son,  Stephen,  to 
carry  out  his  work.  If  your  father  began  any 
great  work,  could  you  carry  it  out  for  him? 

Stephen  F.  Austin,  the  father  of  Texas,  did 
just  what  his  father  liad  ])lanned  to  do.  He  was 
a  young  man  and  very  brave. 

He  took  the  land  between  the  Colorado  and 
Brazos  rivers  for  his  men  to  settle.  To  each  man 
he  gave  040  acres  of  land:  to  his  wife  320  acres; 
and  140  acres  to  each  child. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  49 

A  ship  called  the  '"Livery"  was  sent  to  Austin. 
She  was  full  of  good  things  to  eat.  She  carried 
plows  and  otlier  things  they  needed,  ])ut  she  was 
lost. 

Austin  had  to  go  to  Mexico  to  get  his  grant 
again.  A  grant  was  a  paper  saying  that  he  might 
bring  some  white  people  to  Texas  to  live.  Two 
men  went  with  him.  They  all  dressed  like  beg- 
gars, because  they  were  afraid  of  being  robbed  or 
killed.  They  slept  in  the  open  air  at  night. 
Twelve  hundred  miles  was  a  long  way  to  go  on 
foot,  wasn't  it? 

Austin  had  to  stay  a  year.  He  was  received 
with  joy  when  he  came  back  home.  Some  of  his 
men  had  left  the  country.  Day  and  night  they 
had  to  watch  for  the  Indians.  There  was  no  mail 
unless  a  man  should  bring  a  letter  or  paper  in 
his  pocket. 

[What  is  the  capital  of  Texas?  Find  it  on  the 
map.     For  whom  was  the  capital  named?] 

HOW   THE   FIRST   TEXAXS   LIVED. 

These  people  lived  in  rude  log  cabins,  but  they 
were  honest  and  kind  and  true.     Thf!v  ate  wild 


50 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 


game.     Deer  and  bear  were  scarce,  and  they  had 
to  kill  the  wild  horses  for  food. 

There  were  no  stores  where  anything  could  be 
bought.  The  women  as  well  as  the  men  wore 
buckskin  clothes.    They  were  glad  to  see  a  peddler 


"»•>  ■;  --,'<-* 

-:i-?-."'''ii".  .  •?<•#•'■'->• 

>.,-^-«iv 

■"  ^' 

^^~ 

"  " 

~        J    ^-:iSte=  Ji   . 

^ 

j^g^ 

n 

« 

-!^H 

^. 

*  H^H 

^^^^P'- 

'm 

I^HHb' 

'<  ^^H 

m 

^a... . 

I 

"  ^iHH 

1 

i^-*-  ^1 

^K^ 

•^      *  •/' 

^^Hi 

1 

^^^H 

m^' 

1 

^^^H 

r- 

m 

iJ'^SI 

H^^^H 

LOG    CAI5TX   or  AX   EARLY   SETTLER. 

with  a  few  yard?  of  calico.     Calico  cost  as  much 
as  silk  does  now.  fifty  cents  a  yard. 

Little  crops  of  corn  and  cotton  grew  near  the 
cabins.  The  men  were  kept  busy  cutting  down 
trees.  They  planted  corn  in  holes  made  with  a 
sharp  stick. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTORY.  51 

Some  of  the  men  would  stay  to  guard  the  fam- 
ily. The  others  would  leave  in  the  morning  to 
hunt  food.  Game  was  so  scarce  that  they  might 
hunt  a  whole  day  for  a  deer  or  wild  turkey  and 
come  home  at  night  without  anything. 

It  would  have  made  your  heart  sick  to  have 
seen  the  poor  little  children,  who  had  had  noth- 
ing to  eat  all  day,  watch  for  the  hunters  at  night. 
As  soon  as  they  caught  the  first  sight  of  them  they 
ran  out  to  meet  them  and  see  if  they  had  found 
any  game.  If  the  hunters  had  a  deer  or  turkey, 
the  children  Avere  wild  with  delight.  But  if  they 
came  home  without  food,  hig  tears  would  roll 
down  the  children's  cheeks. 

The  doors  were  always  left  open,  even  when  the 
houses  were  empty.  When  a  man  rode  up  to  a 
house  they  said  he  found  the  latch-string  hanging 
out.  The  hopper  in  the  hollow  log  was  set  to 
grinding  corn.  The  deer  or  bear  meat  was  put 
on  the  coals.     The  ash  cake  was  baked. 

After  the  meal  and  the  evening  pipe,  the  visitor 
stretched  himself  on  a  buffalo  skin  with  the  fam- 
ily, and  slept  well.  When  he  left  they  said,  "You 
can  pay  us  by  coming  again." 


52  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

[What  towns  in  Texas  are  named  for  great 
men  ?] 

AUSTIJs^  IN  MEXICO. 

After  some  years,  Texas  wanted  to  be  a  free 
State.  Austin  was  the  one  she  chose  to  go  to 
Mexico.  This  was  not  easy  to  do.  The  Mexicans 
were  having  war  in  their  own  countr}',  and  they 
did  not  trust  our  men. 

Austin's  papers  were  sent  to  Congress.  But  he 
had  to  wait  so  long  for  an  answer  that  he  wrote 
a  letter  to  Texas.  Some  one  sent  this  letter  to 
Mexico.  This  made  the  Mexicans  angrv'.  They 
took  Austin  to  the  city  and  put  him  in  prison, 
where  for  a  time  they  would  not  let  him  have  any 
paper  or  pen  and  ink.  No  one  could  speak  to 
him,  nor  he  with  anybody. 

At  last,  while  he  was  in  prison,  they  let  an  old 
friend  of  his  bring  him  a  book  and  a  pencil.  To 
make  the  time  pass  faster  he  wrote  some.  He 
says : 

"The  walls  of  my  cell  have  some  pictures  of 
snakes  and  scenes  drawn  more  than  sixty  years 
ago. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTORY.  53 

"Tonight  at  half-past  10  there  was  a  very  had 
earthquake. 

"When  I  first  came  to  Texas,  in  1821,  I  had 
a  very  old  man  with  me,  who  was  a  good  hunter. 
Hardly  a  day  passed  that  he  did  not  say  to  me, 
'You  are  too  impatient ;  you  wish  to  go  too  fast.' 
I  saw  this  was  a  good  rule.  I  am  so  sorry  that  I 
did  not  obey  this  rule  when  I  wrote  my  letter  in 
Mexico." 

Travis  sent  to  Mexico,  asking  them  to  let  Aus- 
tin go.  He  was  put  into  a  better  room.  And 
there  was  some  talk  of  taking  him  into  court  to 
try  him.  Letters  came  saying  Austin  was  not 
friendly  to  Mexico,  so  they  would  not  let  him  go. 

After  staying  over  two  years,  they  sent  him 
home.  The  people  who  had  come  with  Austin  to 
Texas  received  him  as  one  risen  from  the  dead. 
He  found  everything  was  going  wrong.  War  had 
begun. 

They  wanted  him  for  a  commander,  because  he 
was  simple  and  truthful.  He  knew  the  Mexicans 
well.     He  fought  to  make  Texas  free. 


54  FOOTPRINTS   OF  TEXAS  HISTORY 

THE  WAR. 

A  long  time  ago,  many  Mexicans  lived  in  Texas. 
Texas  belonged  to  Mexico.  Find  Mexico  on  the 
map.  The  Mexicans  asked  people  from  other 
States  to  come  here  to  live,  but  after  a  while  they 
grew  jealous  of  these  people.  They  said  the  Tex- 
ans  were  not  doing  right.  The  Texans  said  every 
one  who  wanted  to  be  free  from  Mexico  must  take 
up  arms.     This  was  their  cry : 

"To  arms  !  to  arms  !     The  cry  wakes  the  land ! 

CHORUS. 

"Arouse,  ye  braves ;  your  banners  wave ! 

Texans,  to  arms ! 
Arouse,  ye  braves;  your  banners  wave! 

Texans,  to  arms ! 
From  your  guns  an  answer  fling, 
Bid  the  thundering  echoes  ring, 
Arouse,  ye  braves ;  your  banners  wave ! 

Texans,  to  arms !" 


FOOTPRINTS   OF    TP:XAS    HISTORY.  55 

BATTLE  HYMN. 

KEY   OF    G. 


sit,  d-s-dr,  m-d- 
dm,  s,  m  d  m,  r- 
slt,  d-s-dr,  m-d- 
dm,  s,  s  st,  d— II 


'Thej  are  rising,  they  are  marching 
From  the  mountains  and  the  glen, 

From  the  prairies  and  savannahs, 
A  determined  host  of  men. 


II. 


They  are  rushing  to  the  seaside, 
They  are  forming  on  the  plain, 

Whole  brigades  of  daring  spirits — 
Men  too  proud  to  wear  a  chain. 

III. 

Songs  of  love  and  hymns  of  glory 
Shall  await  the  true  and  brave, 

And  the  millions  free  and  grateful. 
Guard  the  fallen  soldier's  ffrave." 


56  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

TJTE  FIE  ST  BATTLE. 

A  long  time  ago,  there  were  so  many  Indians 
around  Gonzales  that  the  people  asked  for  a  gun 
to  fight  them.  The  Mexicans  gave  them  one.  It 
lay  about  the  streets,  upon  the  ground.  It  was 
used  to  make  a  noise  when  the  people  got  merry. 
The  Mexicans  now  wanted  them  to  give  up  the 
gun.     They  would  not  do  it. 

The  cannon  was  buried  under  a  peach  tree. 
The  ground  was  plowed  over. 

Some  of  the  men  made  shot  for  the  cannon  by 
cutting  up  pieces  of  chains  and  making  balls. 
Help  came.  The  Mexicans  could  not  cross  with 
letters,  because  tlie  ferryboat  had  been  hidden. 
But  a  man  swam  over  vnth  the  letters. 

The  ferryboat  was  put  back.  Then  an  ox 
wagon  was  fitted  up  and  the  gun  raised  and 
mounted  upon  it.  The  Texans  drew  it  to  the 
river  with  a  flag  raised  altove  the  cannon,  "Come 
and  take  it." 

The  Texans  crossed  the  river  with  the  cannon. 
Then  they  marched  up  the  river  several  miles. 
The  fog  was  so  thick  when  some  of  our  men  met 


FOOTPRIXTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  57 

the  Mexicans  they  could  not  tell  whether  they 
were  firing  at  a  friend  or  not.  A  little  dog  ran 
among  the  Texans  and  showed  where  they  were. 

There  was  a  loud  roar  of  cannon.  The  Mexi- 
cans fled  like  clouds  of  dust  before  a  storm.  Our 
men  took  blankets  and  other  things  from  them. 

BEX  MILAM. 

When  Milam  was  a  prisoner  in  Mexico,  his 
pleasant  ways  made  the  jailer  like  him.  The 
jailer  let  him  take  a  walk  to  the  river  to  bathe. 
Milam  told  a  friend  to  have  a  fast  horse  for  him 
at  a  certain  place.  He  passed  the  guard  as  he 
went  to  the  water,  walked  quietly  on,  then  jumped 
on  the  horse  and  ran  away. 

A  few  days'  hard  riding  brought  him  to  Texas. 
When  he  reached  here  he  found  the  war  begun. 
A  few  men,  led  by  Milam,  made  up  their  minds 
to  attack  the  fort  at  Goliad,  then  in  the  hands  of 
the  Mexicans.     This  was  the  way  they  did  it: 

Their  axes  cut  down  the  door  where  the  colonel 
slept,  and  he  was  taken  prisoner.  The  guard  was 
killed.     The  blaze  of  the  Mexican  guns  made  a 


58  FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

target  for  our  men.  They  were  told  to  give  up. 
They  asked  for  terais.     The  answer  was : 

"No  terms;  come  out  and  give  up,  and  come 
quick,  or  you  will  be  killed,  every  one  of  you.  I 
can  not  keep  the  men  back  much  longer." 

"Oh,"  shouted  the  Mexicans,  "keep  the  men 
back;  we  will  come  out  at  once." 

They  rushed  out  in  a  hurry  and  laid  down  their 
arms.     The  place  was  taken  by  a  handful  of  men. 

COXCEPCIOX. 

Fannin  and  Bowie  were  sent  to  the  river  to 
choose  a  nice  camping  place.  They  found  a  beau- 
tiful spot  on  the  river  near  Concepcion..  Here 
they  camped  for  the  night. 

Next  morning,  about  the  break  of  day,  as  some 
of  the  men  were  making  fires,  the  Mexicans  began 
to  fight.  It  was  foggy;  the  Mexicans  had  put  a 
cannon  upon  a  hill  near  ])y.  Bowie  heard  the 
cannon  and  waked  up  tlie  men.  He  said:  "Get 
vour  guns,  lx)ys;  here  they  come." 

The  Mexicans  came  upon  Henry  Karnes  in  the 
dark.     He  fired  upon  them  and  fell  back  into  the 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY.  59 

camp.  Fannin  and  Bowie  told  their  men  to  make 
the  bank  of  the  river  safe,  and  to  form  and  shoot 
when  they  liked.  As  soon  as  it  was  light  the 
Texans  made  a  way  through  the  vines  and  cut 
steps  in  the  bluff,  so  as  to  fire  over  it. 

The  cannon  shots  did  no  harm,  because  the 
Texans  were  hid  by  trees.  If  a  man  showed  him- 
self to  get  a  shot,  some  one  called  out,  "Look  out ! 
You  will  get  shot." 

Our  men  fired  into  them  and  they  ran.  Three 
times  this  was  done,  and  then  the  shout  was  heard, 
"Charge  the  cannon !"  Then  the  Texans  dashed 
up  the  hill  and  sang  out,  "That  cannon  is  ours !" 
Our  rifles  soon  cleared  the  gunners  from  the  can- 
non. We  took  the  cannon,  and  fired  it  upon  the 
Mexicans.     This  ran  them  off. 

Mexican  horsemen  were  put  back  on  the  road 
a])out  half  a  mile  away.  Their  ropes  were  ready 
to  catch  the  Texans  when  they  were  driven  out 
into  the  open  flats.  They  had  not  yet  learned 
what  it  was  to  round  up  a  bunch  of  Texans. 
The}^  ran  away  with  the  loss  of  one  cannon  and 
about  sixtv  men. 


fiO  FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

THE  GEASS  FIGHT. 

The  Texan  army  was  at  Concepcion.  They 
had  a  thousand  men.  They  marched  by  the  pow- 
der house  and  camped  near  the  head  of  the  San 
Antonio  River,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill.  There 
they  stayed  four  or  five  days,  keeping  watch 
around  the  town.  They  thought  that  General 
Cos,  who  was  in  the  town,  would  give  up.  He 
could  not  get  anything  to  eat  for  his  men  or 
horses,  but  he  still  held  out. 

The  Mexicans  sent  out  300  of  their  horses  to 
save  feed,  but  Travis  caught  them.  These  were 
so  poor  they  knew  the  men  must  have  nothing  to 
eat.  Many  men  died  from  hunger.  Our  men 
liked  to  play  with  the  cannon  balls  the  Mexicans 
shot  at  them,  and  then  throw  them  back.  They 
would  not  let  the  Mexicans  out  to  get  anything 
to  eat. 

Deaf  Smith  had  been  looking  for  the  Mexican 
general  to  bring  money  to  pay  the  men.  On  that 
morning  Cos  had  sent  some  men  to  cut  grass  for 
the  horses.  Having  cut  the  grass,  they  were  on 
their  way  back,  when  Deaf  Smith  saw  them.    The 


POOTPRIXTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTORY.  61 

grass  was  in  saddle-bags  thrown  over  tlie  backs  of 
the  burros.  Deaf  Smith  thought  these  bags  were 
full  of  gold  and  silver,  so  he  ran  back  to  tell  the 
Texans,  who  set  up  a  cry.  Bowie  and  all  the 
men  ran  after  the  burros. 

They  had  a  big  fight  and  drove  the  men  from 
the  dry  creek  and  took  the  horses.  How  funny 
tliey  must  have  felt  when  they  opened  the  bags 
and  found  nothing  but  grass !  I  guess  they  told 
many  a  joke  about  it. 

BEN  MILAM. 

With  old  Ben  Milam,  .who  will  go, 

To  meet  the  foe  in  San  Antonio? 

Stepping  out  before  the  tent, 

In  truth  lie  was  a  noble  man. 

His  hat  he  waved,  and  shouted  as  he  went, 

"Bring  forth  the  horse  !"    The  horse  was  brought ; 

An  eager  crowd  took  up  the  cry 
As  though  it  were  a  joy  to  die. 
We  have  not  many  miles  to  go, 
Witli  every  now  and  then  a  blow, 
And  ten  to  one  at  least  the  foe. 


62  FOOTPRINTS   OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

Away !  away !  and  on  we  dash, 
Rivers  less  rapid  and  less  rash ! 

We  neared  the  river  town;  'twas  not  so  wide 
Bnt  we  could  see  the  bounds  on  either  side; 
'Twas  studded  with  old  live-oak  trees, 
That  bent  not  to  the  roughest  breeze. 
We  rustled  through  the  leaves  like  wind, 
Left  shrubs  and  trees  and  men  behind, 
By  night  we  heard  them  on  tlie  track, 
Their  men  came  hard  upon  our  back. 

We  feared  that  we  might  meet  some  lurking  spy; 

Dark  above  us  was  the  sky; 

But  tlirough  it  stole  a  tender  light. 

Like  the  first  moonrise  of  midnight; 

''Twas  scarcely  yet  the  break  of  day, 

As  we  moved  along  in  darkness 

Between  tlic  walls  of  houses  in  the  way. 

By  the  drum,  the  alarm  was  given. 
The  cry  of  the  Texans  arose  to  heaven, 
''Shoot  every  man  who  shows  himself 
Through  windows,  loopholes,  and  every  way"; 
Tims  the  battle  lasted  all  day. 
.Struck  in  the  head  by  a  ball, 
Kin^^-like  brave   !Milam  bore  liis  fall. 


rOOTPRTXTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTORY.  63 

His  men  all  silent  were  they, 
As  they  buried  him  where  he  lay. 

And  let  me  say,  of  all  our  band, 
Though  firm  of  heart  and  strong  of  hand, . 
In  skirmish,  march,  or  forage,  none 
Can  less  have  said  or  more  have  done. 
Than  thou,  Ben  Milam  I     On  the  earth 
So  fit  a  one  had  never  birth. 

To  sleep  the  sleep  of  death  in  the  arms  of  victory. 
And  o'er  thy  tomb  shall  children  weep. 
And  pray  to  heaven  in  murmurs  low. 
That  peaceful  be  the  hero's  sleep; 
Who  conquered  San  Antonio. 

For  bravest  of  the  Texas  clime, 

Who  fouglit  to  make  licr  clnldren  free, 

Was  Milam  I  and  his  death  sublime 
Is  linked  with  undying  lil)ei'ty. 

IXDEPEXDENCE  DAY. 

Do  you  know  why  we  liave  a  holiday  on  the  2d 
of  March?  Because  on  that  day  the  paper  was 
siirned  wiiich  made  Texas  free. 


CA  FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

Did  you  know  that  some  boys  signed  that 
paper?  After  tliat,  Texas  was  not  under  the  laws 
of  Mexico  any  longer.  That  paper  said  many 
things  which  were  for  the  good  of  the  people  who 
live  here;  some  of  the  things  were: 

1.  No  man  can  ])e  put  in  prison  for  debts. 

2.  Women  and  children  may  always  keep  a 
jiome. 

3.  All  children  can  go  to  school  free. 

Little  children,  you  must  say,  "Here  and  here 
has  Texas  helped  me;  how  can  I  help  Texas?" 
You  can  honor  and  love  the  flag  of  your  State. 
Love  Texas. 

On  Independence  day  of  each  year,  let  the  flag 
of  our  fathers,  the  Lone  Star  flag  of  Texas,  be 
raised  upon  your  schoolhouse.  You  will  soon  be 
the  men  and  women  of  the  State.  She  looks  to 
you  to  be  true  to  her  good  works. 

THE  T\Yl^  STSTP:RS. 

You  have  seen,  no  doubt,  twin  sisters,  but  you 
never  saw  any  like  the  ones  I  am  going  to  tell 
yon  about.  They  couldn't  ])reathe  nor  feel,  but  if 
von  were  in  front  of  tlieni,  vou  would  think  thev 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  65 

were  alive.  Can  you  guess  what  they  were  ?  "Well, 
they  were  two  brass  cannon.  They  were  made  and 
sent  as  a  present  from  the  people  of  another  town 
to  help  Texas.     What  town  was  it? 

It  was  hard  to  send  them  so  many  miles.  Hous- 
ton sent  for  them  twice,  but  there  was  no  way  of 
sending  them  by  land.  The  roads  were  bad;  the 
enemy  Avas  near.  So  they  were  sent  by  water  to 
Galveston,  and  at  this  place  horses  were  used  to 
haul  them  the  rest  of  the  way. 

Horseshoes  and  old  pieces  of  iron  were  cut  up 
for  shot.  The  Twin  Sisters  got  after  Santa 
Anna,  the  Mexican  general,  on  the  day  of  the  bat- 
tle of  San  Jacinto.  He  came  marching  up.  A 
shot  from  the  Twin  Sisters  brought  him  to  a  sud- 
den halt,  and  he  was  in  a  hurry  to  fall  back  to 
some  trees  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

[Draw  a  cannon."] 

THE  GT?EAT  HUXTER. 

David  Crockett,  the  mighty  deer  and  bear 
hunter,  spent  his  life  in  the  woods. 

When  he  was  a  little  boy  his  playthings  were 


06  FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

the  ax  and  the  rifle.  His  father  tried  to  get  him 
to  go  to  school,  but  he  ran  away  from  home  be- 
caiise  his  teacher  wanted  to  whip  him  for  playing 
"hookey."'  His  school  was  the  woods;  his  book 
his  long  rifle,  "Betsy." 

He  dressed  in  buckskin.  He  wore  a  coonskin 
cap. 

Crockett"?  aim  was  certain  deatli.  A  good  story 
is  told  of  him.  They  sa}*  that  one  time  when  he 
was  coon  hunting,  seeing  a  coon  up  a  tree,  he 
pointed  his  gun  at  it.     The  coon  said: 

"Is  that  you,  Crockett?  Well,  you  needn't 
shoot;  I'll  just  come  down,  for  I  know  you'll  kill 
me." 

Crockett  gave  liis  life  for  Texas  at  the  Alamo. 

This  is  the  way  he  said  you  must  act.  Copy  it: 
"Be  sure  you're  right;  then  go  ahead." 

THE  TEXAS  SPY. 

Did  you  ever  play  "I  Spy?"'  To  spy  means  to 
hunt.  One  child  shuts  his  eyes  and  the  others 
hide.  He  counts  a  hundred,  then  runs  to  find 
them. 

So,  Deaf  Smitli  was  the  man  who  went  over  to 


FOOTPRINTS    OP    TEXAS    HISTORY.  67 

the  Mexican  side  and  tried  to  find  out  what  they 
were  doing,  then  came  hack  and  told  our  men. 

When  men  had  to  go  on  a  long  trip,  he  would 
show  them  the  way.  He  led  Fannin  and  Bowie 
to  Concepeion,  and  showed  Milam  the  way  through 
the  dark  streets  at  the  storming  of  San  Antonio. 
He  was  sent  to  meet  Mrs.  Dickinson  on  her  way 
from  the  Alamo. 

He  was  at  home  in  the  woods.  He  was  called 
Deaf  Smitii  because  he  was  hard  of  hearing.  He 
loved  to  ramble  alone.     He  spoke  but  few  words. 

[What  did  he  do  at  San  Jacinto?  What  did 
he  do  at  the  Grass  Fight?] 

AI^  INDIAN  FIGHTER. 

Bowie  was  a  great  Indian  fighter.  He  was  six 
feet  high,  not  fleshy,  but  well  made.  He  had  a 
fair  skin  and  small  blue  eyes.  He  stood  quite 
straight,  which  made  him  have  rather  a  fierce 
look.  But  he  was  mild  and  quiet.  He  had  a  way 
of  making  people  like  him.  He  was  as  strong  as 
he  was  daring.  His  brother  says  when  he  was  a 
little  boy  he  would  rope  and  ride  alligators. 


68  FOOTPRINTS   OF    TEXAg    HISTORY. 

The  first  bowie  knife  was  made  by  him.  Did 
you  ever  see  one?  It  is  used  for  hunting.  But 
Bowie  killed  a  man  with  it  once  in  a  fight.  Bowie 
married  a  Mexican  lady.  Still,  he  always  fought 
for  Texas. 

THE  FLAG. 

At  the  Alamo,  as  the  gray  light  of  dawn  came, 
"the  flag  of  Travis,  which  was  a  Mexican  flag,  still 
waved  proudly  from  the  walls.  It  was  not  torn 
from  its  staff  until  the  last  man  had  fallen. 

**'Now  the  foe  may  wave  it, 
For  there's  not  a  sword  to  save  it ; 
Inhere  is  not  one  left  to  lave  it 
In  the  blood  that  heroes  gave  it." 

[Ask  your  teacher  to  draw  the  six  flags  Texas 
Tias  been  under.] 

"Hurrah  for  the  I.one  Star !    Up,  up  to  the  mast. 
With  the  honored  old  bunting,  and  nail  it  there 

fast; 
"When  the  ship  is  in  danger,  the  Texans  will  fight 
'Neath  the  flag  of  the  Lone  Star,  for  God  and 

their  riofht." 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY,  69' 

TRAVIS'  LETTER  FROM  THE  ALAMO. 

This  is  the  kind  of  letter  Travis  wrote  from 
the  Alamo.  Yoj.i  can  see  the  letter  if  you  go  to- 
the  capitol. 

"Alamo,  . 

"Bexar,  Fby.  24th,  1836. 

"To  the  People  of  Texas  and  all  Americans  in 
the  world : 

"Fellow  citizens  and  compatriots: 

"I  am  besieged  by  1000  or  more  of  the  Mex- 
icans under  Santa  Anna.  I  have  held  out  under 
a  cannonade  for  24  hours  and  have  not  lost  a  man. 
They  have  demanded  a  surrender,  otherwise  we- 
are  to  be  put  to  the  sword  if  the  fort  is  taken.  I 
have  answered  them  with  a  cannon  shot,  and  our 
flag  still  waves  proudly  from  the  walls.  I  shall 
never  surrender  or  retreat.  Then,  I  call  on  you 
in  the  name  of  Liberty  and  everything  dear  to 
Americans  to  come  to  our  aid,  with  all  dispatch. 
The  enemy  is  receiving  more  men  daily  and  will 
no  doubt  be  3000  or  4000  strong  in  four  or  five' 
days.  If  this  call  is  neglected,  I  will  hold  out  as 
long  as  I  am  able  and  die  like  a  soldier  who  never 


70  FOOTPRIXTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

forgets  what  is  due  to  his  honor  and  to  that  of 
his  country. 

"Victory  or  death. 

"William  Barrett  Travis. 
"P.  S. — When  the  enemy  appeared  in  sight  we 
had  not  three  bushels  of  corn.     We  have  since 
found  in  deserted  liouses  80  or  90  bushels  and 
gotten  into  the  walls  20  or  30  head  of  beeves. 

"Travis." 

THE  FALL  OF  THE  ALAMO. 


For  ten  days  the  Texans  kept  several  thousand 
Mexicans  out.  Giving  up  hope  of  any  help,  Travis 
made  up  his  mind  to  sell  his  life  dearly,  and, 
drawing  a  line  \nth  his  sword  on  the  ground,  he 
told  all  who  were  willing  to  fight  with  him  to 
"fall  in  line."  Even  Bowie,  who  was  sick,  had 
his  cot  carried  to  the  line. 

On  the  last  of  February,  the  fight  began.  Early 
in  the  morning,  a  cannon  ball  struck  the  Alamo 
near  where  Crockett  was  sleeping.  He  sprang  up 
and  ran  out  on  the  roof.  He  saw  a  man  just  ready 
to  fire  another  shot,  but  Crockett  shot  him.     He 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY.  71 

killed  five  men,  imtil  at  last  the  Mexicans  were 
afraid,  so  they  stopped  firing. 

For  eleven  days  200  men  held  4000  from  the 
Alamo.  At  that  time  the  building  had  a  thick 
stone  wall   around  it. 

On  Sunday,  the  6th  of  March,  the  Alamo  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Mexicans.  Santa  Anna 
had  made  up  his  mJnd  to  take  the  j^lace.  He  put 
his  men  all  around  the  walls.  Some  of  them 
were  afraid  o£  the  Texans.  Santa  Anna  put  them 
in  lines  and  put  horsemen  behind  them  to  whip 
them  forward  if  they  turned  back. 

At  4  o'clock  that  morning  the  Mexican  bugles 
sounded.  They  fought  for  two  hours.  The  Mex- 
icans were  driven  back  twice.  As  fast  as  they 
placed  ladders  against  the  walls,  the  Texans 
killed  the  men  and  pushed  the  ladders  over.  But 
for  every  Mexican  who  fell  there  were  a  dozen  to 
take  his  place. 

[Where  is  the  Alamo?] 

II. 

The  brave  Texans  used  their  rifles  as  clubs 
when  there  was  no  time  to  load  them.    The  Mexi- 


72 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 


cans  broke  in.  The  Texans  went  back  into  the 
house  and  got  behind  bags  of  dirt,  which  they 
had  put  in  the  windows  and  doorways,  and  on  the 
roofs,  Mexicans  were  on  all  sides.  Soon  in  every 
room  there  was  hand-to-hand  fighting. 


THE   ALAMO. 


Bowie  and  some  others  were  in  the  hospital.. 
As  fast  as  the  Mexicans  tried  to  come  in  they 
would  shoot  tliem  down  from  their  beds.  At  last 
the  Mexicans  fired  a  cannon  and  scattered  all  the- 
sick.  Bowie  was  lying  on  the  floor  badly  hurt. 
A  Mexican  thinking  him  nearly  dead,  came  up  to- 
kill    him.      Bowie    sprang   up,    caught    him,    and 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  73 

waved  his  big  knife.     The  Mexican  yelled  as  he 
stabbed  him,  and  both  fell  over  dead. 

In  another  part  of  the  Alamo,  Travis,  Crockett, 
and  others  had  been  driven  into  a  corner  of  a 
room.  Backs  to  the  wall  they  were  fighting  with 
bloody  knives  and  guns  and  clubs.  Their  faces 
were  cut  and  full  of  blood.  Twenty  dead  Mexi- 
cans lay  around  Crockett.  The  Mexican  General 
was  sorry  for  him  and  wanted  to  save  him  because 
he  was  so  brave,  so  he  called  to  him  to  give  up 
and  went  to  Santa  Anna  asking  for  quarter  for 
him. 

.Santa  Anna  replied,  "All  must  be  shot." 
Crockett  read  his  answer  from  his  face  and  rushed 
upon  him,  knife  in  hand,  but  he  never  reached 
him.  ^Mien  he  had  taken  a  few  steps  they  riddled 
him  with  bullets.  The  other  men  had  the  same 
fate,  and  the  Alamo  was  taken.  Xot  one  of  the 
brave  men  was  left  to  tell  the  story.  Their  bodies 
were  put  outside  the  walls.  Wood  was  thrown 
on  them,  and  they  were  burned  to  ashes. 

The  only  people  who  got  away  were  the  two 
negro  slaves  of  Travis  and  Bowie,  and  Mrs.  Dick- 
inson and  little  Emily,  the  "Child  of  the  Alamo." 


74  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

FANXIN. 

When  Fannin,  who  was  near  Goliad,  heard  that 
the  Mexicans  were  coming,  he  had  so  few  men  he 
thoiiglit  hest  to  leave  the  fort. 

Fire  was  set  to  the  houses.  The  wagons  were 
loaded.  The  drums  called  the  men,  and  away 
they  marched. 

Three  miles  from  Goliad,  Fannin  stopped  to  let 
his  tired  horses  get  some  grass.  AVhen  they  began 
to  march  they  saw  tlie  Mexican  arms  shining 
through  the  woods.  An  army  was  coming.  The 
men  made  a  hollow  square.  The  wagons  and 
other  things  were  in  the  middle.  The  cannon 
could  not  be  used,  because  there  was  no  water  to 
sponge  them  with. 

Fannin  was  hurt,  but  he  kept  on  fighting. 
Many  a  man  fought  when  he  could  liardly 
stand  up. 

One  boy  named  Hal,  only  1,5  years  old,  had  his 
thigh  broken  by  a  ball.  He  asked  Mrs.  Cash,  a 
lady  who  wa.s  with  them,  to  help  him  into  her 
cart.  She  fixed  a  prop  for  him  to  lean  against 
and  a  rest  for  his  rifle.     He  fired  awav  until  an- 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY,  75 

other  ball  broke  his  right  arm.    But  he  had  killed 
four  Mexicans. 

"You  may  take  me  down  now,  mother,  I  have 
done  my  part.  They  have  paid  two  men  for  every 
one  of  the  balls  in  me." 

Fannin  was  at  Goliad  with  400  men.  He  wrote 
many  times  for  help.  In  one  of  his  letters  he 
said :  ''Do  send  some  money,  and  clothes  and 
shoes  for  the  men.  The  guard  marched  off  bare- 
footed yesterday." 

Fannin  had  sent  some  of  his  men  to  help  King, 
who  was  a  few  miles  away.  Most  of  King's  men 
were  killed.  Some  got  away  by  reaching  the 
v>'oods  and  swimming  the  river.  They  made  their 
way,  hiding  by  day  and  moving  on  by  night. 

The  next  morning  Houston  sent  Fannin  word 
to  blow  up  the  fort  and  leave  the  place,  and  to 
bring  awa^-  as  many  guns  as  he  could,  and  sink 
the  rest  in  the  river.  He  at  once  made  ready  to 
obey.  The  guns  were  buried.  The  men  got  the 
horses  and  carts  ready.     While  they  were  going. 


76  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

they  met  the  Mexicans.  One  man,  who  was  a 
doctor,  says: 

"A  spy  came  in  and  told  us  a  large  army  was 
coming.  We  dug  up  our  cannon  and  more  guards 
were  put  on  for  the  night.  But  they  did  not  sur- 
prise us  that  night. 

"We  went  back  to  the  fort.  Our  horses  wanted 
food,  so  we  stopped  to  graze  them.  The  Mexi- 
cans ran  after  us.  We  made  a  hollow  square.  We 
were  told  not  to  fire  until  they  came  near. 

"They  began  firing.  Fannin  was  shot,  but  not 
rnuch  hurt.  Our  guns  had  now  become  hot  and 
we  had  no  water  to  sponge  them  with.  We  had 
to  use  our  other  arms.  We  had  many  hurt  and 
killed.  We  would  not  trv'  to  cut  our  way  through 
the  Mexican  lines. 

"They  were  in  the  woods  in  front  of  us.  We 
could  not  get  away  in  the  night,  because  there 
was  no  way  to  take  our  sick.  The  horses  had 
been  killed.  We  would  not  leave  sick  men.  The 
Mexicans  got  help. 

"At  last  we  raised  a  white  flag.  Fannin,  who 
was  lame,  then  went  out  with  the  flag.  He  agreed 
to  give  up  if  they  would  treat  his  men  as  prison- 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  77 

ers  of  war,  and  send  them  home.  They  signed 
the  paper. 

"^\''e  gave  up  our  arms.  They  took  us  back  to 
Goliad.  We  reached  there  a  little  after  sunset 
and  were  driven  into  the  church.  Many  of  the 
men  could  play  well  on  the  flute.  That  evening 
they  played  'Home,  Sweet  Home.'  Poor  men,  it 
was  their  last  evening. 

"On  Sunday,  the  27th  of  March,  a  man  called 
us  up  and  said  he  wanted  the  men  to  form  a 
line,  that  they  might  be  counted.  I  thought  some 
one  had  run  away. 

"Our  men  "w^ere  put  into  four  companies  and 
marched  out,  each  company  in  a  different  way. 
Some  of  them  were  told  they  were  wanted  to  kill 
beef,  others  tliat  they  were  to  be  sent  home. 

"In  about  half  an  hour  we  heard  firing  towards 
the  river.  I  asked  what  it  was.  The  Mexican 
"vnth  me  said,  'T  do  not  know,  but  think  it  is  the 
guards  firing  off  their  guns.' 

"  'Are  they  killing  our  men  ?'  I  asked. 

"/Yes,'  he  answered;  'I  did  not  give  the  order.' 

"When  a  little  way  from  the  walls,  they  were 
halted  and  shot.    I  could  see  the  heads  of  some  of 


78  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

the  men  through  the  peach  trees  and  could  hear 
their  screams.  They  were  told  to  sit  down  with 
their  backs  to  the  guard.  One  man  said:  'Boys, 
they  are  going  to  kill  us  I  Die  with  your  faces  to 
them  like  men.' 

"Fannin  was  the  last  man  to  be  shot.  He  said 
that  he  did  not  care  to  live  after  his  men  had 
been  shot.  He  acted  like  a  soldier.  He  handed 
his  watch  to  the  man  and  asked  that  he  should 
be  shot  in  the  heart  and  not  in  the  head.  He 
was  put  in  a  chair  and  shot  in  the  head. 

"Nearly  all  were  killed.  The  Mexicans  went 
around   and   cut  up  the  wounded. 

"Many  tried  to  get  away,  but  were  run  down 
or  shot.  A  few  got  away  by  lying  clown  and 
making  out  as  if  they  were  dead  until  dark. 

"One  of  the  men  was  shot,  stabbed,  and  beaten 
over  the  head  with  a  gun  and  left  for  dead.  He 
was  stunned  for  a  while,  but  when  it  grew  dark 
he  came  to  and  crawled  to  the  creek  for  Avater." 

THE  EU^TAWAYS. 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  the  Alamo  made  the 
women  get  their  children  and  start  for  a  place 


FOOTPRIXTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  79 

where  they  would  be  safe.  Any  kind  of  a  rig  was 
used  for  travel.  Carriages,  wagons,  oxcarts  were 
piled  np  with  bedding  and  babies,  the  women 
driving  or  going  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  as 
they  could. 

A  family  would  leave  a  meal  on  the  table  to 
go  A^'ith  the  rush,  and  the  next  one  who  came  by 
Avould  snatch  it.  Smokehouses  were  left  open  for 
the  hungry  to  get  what  they  wanted.  A  feather 
bed  would  be  on  a  pony  and  the  children  tied  to 
it.  The  prairie  at  times  was  white  with  feathers 
from  beds,  and  the  road  filled  with  things  the 
people  had  lost. 

While  camping  for  the  night,  there  came  up  a 
rain.  The  women  in  camp  gathered  around  a  sick 
woman  and  held  blankets  over  her  to  keep  her 
dry  and  warm. 

It  had  been  raining  and  the  roads  were  full  of 
mud.  Many  women  and  children  were  Avalking 
barefooted  and  bareheaded. 

One  woman  had  her  cart  stuck  in  the  mud.  It 
was  one  of  those  carts  with  wheels  cut  from  a 
large  tree;  the  rough  body  was  put  on  with  wooden 
pegs  and  covered  with  a  sheet.     The  oxen  were 


80  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

lying  in  the  water  with  their  noses  out  for  air. 
The  woman  with  two  little  girls  sat  waiting  for 
help.  At  last  she  drove  her  oxen  out  herself. 
Cracking  her  whip,  she  called  to  them.  "Eise, 
Buck !  Eise,  Ball !  Now  is  the  time  to  do  your 
hest."     And  Buck  and  Ball  arose. 

At  the  cr}"-  of  Mexicans,  anything  and  every- 
thing would  be  thrown  off  to  make  the  wagons 
light,  and  the  horses  whipped  into  a  run. 

After  a  long  march  in  a  cold  rain,  the  runaways 
halted ;  the  women  said  they  could  not  go  another 
step.  They  could  bear  no  more.  Rest,  only  rest, 
was  their  cry. 

On  the  22d  of  April,  1836,  as  the  sun  shone 
out,  the  booming  of  cannon  came  faintly  across 
the  prairie.  The  children  were  asleep  under  the 
trees.     The  old  men  were  asleep  around  the  fires. 

A  woman  began  to  clap  her  hands  and  shout. 
They  saw  a  man  riding  for  life  towards  the  camp; 
his  horse  was  covered  with  foam,  and  he  wae  wav- 
ing his  hand  and  shouting:  "San  Jacinto!  San 
Jacinto !  The  Mexicans  are  whipped  and  Santa 
Anna  a  prisoner !"  People  laughed  and  cried  at 
the  same  time,  they  were  so  happy.  They  all 
went  back  to  their  homes. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY.  81 

BURNING  OF  GONZALES. 

The  guns  were  thrown  into  the  river  and  the 
town  of  Gonzales  was  burned  to  keep  Santa  Anna 
from  taking  it. 

One  of  the  men  who  helped  to  burn  it,  said: 

"Captain  Carnes  then  told  us  that  we  must 
bum  the  town,  and  that  not  a  roof  large  enough 
to  shelter  a  Mexican's  head  was  to  be  left.  We 
divided  into  two  parties, — one  party  to  begin  at 
one  end  of  the  town,  the  other  at  the  other  end, 
and  meet.  There  were  some  four  or  five  men  in 
each  party,  and  we  made  quick  work  of  it.  The 
houses  were  of  wood.  In  a  few  minutes  the  flames 
began  their  work,  and  by  dawn  every  house  was 
burning. 

"It  was  so  sad.  Some  of  the  houses  the  people 
had  just  left.  They  had  left  ever}'thing.  They 
were  without  a  dollar  or  a  friend  on  earth.  Many 
children  had  lost  their  fathers  at  the  Alamo; 
fathers  had  lost  sons;  brothers  had  lost  brothers.'' 


82  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

SAN  JACINTO. 

I. 

Ilonston  went  to  follow  the  enemy.  On  the 
20th  day  of  iVpril  the  Texans  halted  and  went 
into  camp.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  21st, 
Houston  told  a  man  to  give  Deaf  Smith  one  or 
more  axes,  and  to  have  them  at  a  certain  place. 


At  the  same  time  he  sent  for  Smith  and  told 
him  not  to  go  out  of  the  lines  that  day  without 
asking  him,  as  he  had  some  secret  work  for  him 
to   do. 

About  9  o'clock  that  luorning  they  found  that 
the  Mexicans  under  General  Cos  were  coming 
from  Yince's  bridge  toward  their  camp. 

The  Texans  held  a  council  of  war.  The  ques- 
tion was,  whether  they  woidd  fight  the  enemy  or 
wait  for  them  to  fight. 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  83 

Deaf  Smith  and  a  man  whom  Houston  had 
chosen  were  now  sent  for.  The  axes  were  given 
to  them  to  cut  down  Vince's  bridge  and  burn  it. 

Houston  said :  "This  green  grass  will  be  blood- 
red  before  you  return,  unless  you  hurry." 

He  wanted  this  bridge  cut  down  to  keep  the 
Mexicans  from  getting  more  men.  Our  Texas 
troops  were  lively.  They  were  eager  to  fight  and 
could  hardly  keep  their  hands  from  their  guns. 
They  formed  in  line  of  battle  near  the  San  Ja- 
cinto Eiver  without  being  seen  by  the  enemy. 
The  Mexicans  were  enjoying  their  "siesta,"  or 
evening  nap.     Santa  Anna  was  asleep. 

AVhile  the  Texans  were  coming,  Deaf  Smith 
rode  up  as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  front  and  told 
Houston  that  the  bridge  was  gone. 

TI. 

Houston  then  told  the  men.  The  "Twin  Sis- 
ters," those  famous  little  cannon,  opened  fire. 
Pop  !  pop  !  pop  !     Boom  !  boom  !  boom  ! 

The  whole  line  cried,  "Remember  the  Alamo! 
Remember  Goliad !" 

The  Texans  made  no  halt — onward  they  went. 


84  FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

The  Mexicans  fled,  but  the  Texans  followed  them 
into  the  woods.  Before  they  could  form  in  line 
the  Texans  jumped  over  their  breastworks  and 
took  their  cannon.  Many  of  the  Mexicans  ran 
away  and  many  of  them  were  killed. 

Finding  the  bridge  down,  some  crossed  in  the 
bog.  Others  stayed  on  the  prairie.  In  fifteen 
minutes  they  gave  way.  Some  ran  to  some  trees 
near  by,  where  they  gave  up  their  arms. 

Their  cannon  were  left  loaded;  all  their  fine 
things  were  left.  Men  and  horses,  dead  and  dy- 
ing, formed  a  bridge  on  which  others  passed  over. 
Some  cried  out,  "Me  no  Alamo !    "Me  no  Goliad !" 

III. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d,  some  soldiers  found 
Santa  Anna  ten  miles  from  camp.  They  went  as 
far  as  Yince's  bridge.  IsTot  finding  the  rest  of  the 
party,  '''hev  did  not  know  whether  to  go  on  to  the 
Brazos  or  to  return  to  camp.  Thirty  of  the  party 
agreed  to  go  on.    They  went  down  Buffalo  Bayou. 

Burleson  had  given  orders  not  to  kill  any 
prisoners,  but  to  bring  all  into  camp.  Before  they 
had  gone  far,  they  saw  some  four  or  five  deer  on 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY.  85 

the  west  side  of  a  branch.  They  rode  on  within 
forty  or  fifty  yards  of  the  branch,  when  they 
halted. 

The  deer  started,  and  on  looking  to  the  right 
they  saw  a  Mexican  going  towards  the  bridge. 
He  stopped  a  moment  to  look  and  then  went  on. 
They  rode  up  to  where  he  was.  As  soon  as  he 
saw  them  he  lay  down  jn  the  grass,  which  was 
high  enough  to  hide  him  from  them.  When  they 
came  to  the  spot  he  was  lying  on  his  side  with  a 
blanket  over  his  face. 

They  told  him  to  get  up,  but  he  only  uncovered 
his  face ;  then  he  rose  and  stood  up  for  a  moment. 
Finding  soldiers  all  around  him,  he  wanted  to 
shake  hands.  One  of  them  gave  him  his  hand. 
He  pressed  it  and  kissed  it.  He  then  offered 
them  as  a  bribe  a  fine  gold  watch,  jewels,  and  a 
large  sum  of  money.  Would  you  have  taken  this 
bribe?     Well,  these  Texans  did  not  take  it. 

"Where  is  your  brave  Houston?"  he  said. 

"He  is  in  camp,"  they  replied.  "Who  are  you  ?" 

"I  am  a  private  soldier." 

Seeing  the  finaa  studs  in  his  shirt,  they  pointed 
toward  them. 


86  FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

"1  am  an  aide  to  Santa  Anna,"  he  said,  and 
burst  into  a   flood  of  tears. 

"Don't  be  afraid;  you  shall  not  be  hurt." 

Dressed  in  common  clothes,  no  amis,  not  able 
to  walk,  he  rode  two  or  three  miles  into  camp. 
General  Houston  was  lying  on  a  blanket  at  the 
root  of  a  tree,  with  a  saddle  for  a  pillow. 

The  prisoner  walked  up  to  him.  Houston  was 
lying  on  his  left  side,  partly  asleep,  with  his  face 
turned  away.  Houston  knew  it  was  Santa  Anna, 
and  told  him  to  sit  down  on  a  chest  near  by. 

Santa  Anna  said :  "General  Houston,  what  will 
you  do  with  me?" 

Houston  answered :  "You  must  drive  all  the 
Mexicans  over  the  Rio  Grande.  Why  were  you  so 
cruel  to  the  Texans  at  the  Alamo?" 

"I  followed  the  laws  of  war,"  said  Santa  Anna. 

"How  about  the  killing  of  Fannin  and  his  men? 
They  had  given  up,"  said  Houston, 

Santa  Anna  said :  "I  had  made  no  treaty  with 
Fannin,     I  had  to  o])ey  orders." 

Houston  said :  "There  was  a  treaty  made  with 
Fannin.     You  could  have  done  as  you  pleased." 

It   being  night.   General  Houston  gave   Santa 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  87 

Anna  a  camp  bed  in  his  tent.  He  could  not  sleep, 
because  he  was  afraid  of  being  killed.  Houston 
saved  him.  The  soldiers  wanted  to  kill  him  be- 
cause he  had  been  so  cruel. 

The  sword  that  Santa  Anna  wore  in  the  battle 
of  San  Jacinto  was  found  stuck  in  the  ground 
and  broken  ofp.  It  was  worth  $7000.  His  shirt 
studs  had  his  name  on  them  and  were  worth 
$]  700.  The  Texans  took  his  camp  furniture,  rich 
and  splendid ;  silver  tea  pots,  cream  pitchers, 
china  with  his  name  on  it,  and  cut  glass  bottles 
with  gold  stoppers. 

The  glad  news  went  all  over  the  country. 
"San  Jacinto  !  San  Jacinto  !  The  Mexicans  are 
Avhipped  and  Santa  Anna  a  prisoner!  Texas  is 
free  at  last !" 

A  GREAT  MAX. 

San  Houston  dressed  just  like  the  Indians.  In 
all  pictures  of  him  he  is  shown  wearing  a  big 
blanket  and  a  felt  hat.  He  was  received  into  their 
cabins  as  a  friend  and  a  brother.  He  spoke  their 
language.     He  liked  the  wild  life  of  the  Indians. 


88  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

Once  when  he  was  with  them,  his  brother 
wanted  him  to  come  home,  but  he  said: 

"I  would  rather  stay  in  the  woods  and  measure 
deer  tracks  than  stay  in  a  store  and  measure 
cloth." 

One  day  his  motlier,  handing  him  his  gun  from 
the  cabin  door,  said:  "There,  my  son,  take  this 
gun,  and  never  disgrace  it;  for  remember,  I  had 
rather  all  my  sons  should  fill  one  grave  than  that 
one  of  them  should  turn  his  back  to  save  his  life. 
Go,  and  remember,  too.  that  while  the  door  of 
my  cabin  is  open  to  all  brave  men,  it  is  shut  on 
all  cowards." 

In  a  fight  with  the  Indians  once,  an  arrow 
stuck  deep  in  his  side.  He  got  do^vn  from  his 
horse  and  called  out  to  one  of  the  men  to  pull 
out  the  arrow.  The  man  tried  and  could  not,  it 
was  so  deep  in  the  flesh.  Drawing  back  his  sword 
over  his  head,  Houston  roared  to  him,  "Draw  out 
the  arrow.  If  you  fail,  I  will  kill  you  on  the 
spot." 

This  time  the  man  pulled  out  the  arrow,  leav- 
ing an  ugly  wound,  from  which  the  blood  gushed 
in  a  stream. 

Houston  taught  a  school  for  a  while.    The  chil- 


FOOTPRINTS  OF  TEXAS  HISTORY.  89 

(lien  paid  him  from  six  to  eight  dollars  a  year. 
Sometimes  they  paid  corn  instead  of  money. 
Children  liked  his  smile.  He  was  fond  of  play- 
ing with  them  and  telling  them  stories.  He  liked 
to  whittle,  and  had  his  knife  out  all  the  time. 
He  made  toys  in  church  for  children. 

He  ruled  Texas  at  the  head  of  the  army.  He 
was  the  first  President  of  Texas.  He  was  a  great 
man.  He  learned  not  only  to  rule  men,  hut  to 
rule  his  tongue,  which  is  much  harder  to  do. 

Even  when  he  was  a  great  man,  he  lived  simply 
in  a  log  cabin.  On  his  table  he  often  had  only 
bread  and  black  coffee  and  wild  game. 

He  was  the  man  for  the  times, — the  man  that 
Texas  needed. 

His  last  words  were,  "Texas !  Texas !" 

[Look  on  a  map  and  bound  Texas.] 

A  LETTER  FROM  HOUSTON. 

A  letter  from  Houston  to  the  Red  Bear  and 
other  chiefs : 

Washixgtox,  October  13,  1842. 
My  Brothers : 

The  path  between  us  is  open:  it  has  become 


90  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

white.     We  wish  it  to  remain  open,  and  that  it 
shall  no  more  he  stained  with  blood. 

Clouds  no  longer  hang  over  us,  but  the  sun 
gives  light  to  our  footsteps.  Darkness  is  taken 
away  from  us,  and  we  can  look  at  each  other  as 
friends. 

I  send  men  with  my  talk.  They  will  give  it  to 
you.  My  Eed  Brother  will  tell  you  I  am  for 
peace-  They  listened  to  my  words  and  were  not 
troubled.  A  bad  chief  came  in  my  place,  and  told 
them  lies,  and  did  them  much  harm. 

You  wish  to  kill  the  buffalo  for  your  women 
and  children.  There  are  many  in  Texas,  and  we 
wish  you  to  enjoy  them. 

Your  Great  Father  and  ours  wishes  the  red  men 
and  the  people  of  Texas  to  be  brothers.  Let  us 
be  like  brothers  and  bury  the  tomahawk  forever. 
I^et  the  war  whoop  be  no  more  heard  on  our 
prairies. 

Let  songs  of  joy  be  heard  upon  our  hills. 
In  our  valleys  let  there  be  laughter,  and  in  our 
wigwams  let  the  voices  of  our  women  and  children 
be  heard.    Let  trouble  l)e  taken  away  far  from  us; 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  91 

and  when  our  warriors  meet  together,  let  them 
smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  and  be  happy. 
Your  Brother, 

Sam  Houston. 

BOXNIE  BLUE  FLAG. 

KEY   OF    C-i. 

lis,  m-m,  m-m,  ff,  f-s-s,  m  d,  r— [J 
lis  d-d,  t-d,  1-s,  m-d,  m-r,  d-t,  d-|[ 

sd-st-s  1-11 1-ls- 

s  d-d,  t-d,  1-s,  m-d,  m-r,  d-t,  d— 1| 

With  loyal  hearts  we  greet  you, 

Land  of  the  star  and  flower. 
First  'mid  your  sister  States  you  stand 

In  majesty  and  power. 
From  ISTorth  and  South  and  East  and  West 

The  cry  resounds  afar. 
Hurrah  for  the  bonnie  blue  flag 

That  bears  a  single  star. 

CHORUS. 

Hurrah,  hurrah, 
For  the  bonnie  blue  flag  hurrah, 
Hurrah  for  the  bonnie  blue  flag 

That  bears  a  single  star. 


92  FOOTPRINTS  OF  TEXAS  HISTORY. 

For  Texas  is  a  "friend"  indeed, 

And  faithful  to  her  trust; 
She  welcomes  upon  Freedom's  soil 

The  true,  the  brave,  the  just. 
But  should  a  foeman's  treachery 

Attempt  her  rights  to  mar, 
We'll  hoist  on  high  the  bonnie  blue  flag 

That  bears  a  single  star. 

CHORUS. 

[Draw  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag.] 
"TEXAS." 

KEY    OF    F. 

dr  m-m-,  f  r  1-s- 
ms  s-f-,  sr  m— 
rm  f-r-.  Is  s-m-, 
sf  f-r-,  Is  s-m-, 
drm-m-,  fr  1-s-. 
ms,s-f-,  srm-|| 

"Can  you  count  the  stars  that  nightly 
Twinkle  in  the  midnight  sky? 
God,  the  Lord,  dotli  mark  their  number. 
With  His  eyes  that  never  slumber. 
For  He  made  them  every  one. 
For  He  made  them  every  one. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  93 

Do  you  know  how  many  children 
Rise  each  morning  bright  and  fair? 
God,  the  Lord,  doth  mark  their  number, 
With  His  eyes  that  never  slumber. 
For  He  loves  them  every  one. 
For  He  loves  them  every  one. 

When  we  see  the  many  blossoms 

Waving  o'er  this  land  so  fair, 

We  would  thank  Thee,  Lord  in  duty. 

For  their  fragrance  and  their  beauty. 

For  we  love  them  every  one. 

For  we  love  them  every  one." 

THE  WAR  WITHOUT  ANY  BLOOD. 

This  was  a  war  about  the  papers.  One  day, 
at  Austin,  the  men,  women,  and  children  ran  into 
the  streets,  looking  very  angry. 

"What's  the  matter?"  said  a  tall  hunter  who 
had  just  come  in.  He  saw  a  small  cannon  in  the 
street,  and  a  company  of  soldiers  who  were  guard- 
ing some  wagons. 

"Matter  enough,"  said  the  men.    "Old  Sam  has 


94  FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS  HISTORY. 

changed  the  capital  back  to  Houston  and  sent  for 
the  papers.     We  won't  let  them  go." 

Forty  men  with  wagons  came  to  bring  the 
papers.  As  they  were  loading  the  boxes  into  the 
wagons  at  the  Land  Office  a  cannon  was  pointed 
to  the  building.  It  was  touched  off  by  a  lady, 
but  no  one  was  hurt. 

They  got  away  with  some  of  tlie  papers.  The 
wagons  were  overtaken  and  the  papers  brought 
back  to  Austin.  Some  men  in  Austin  shaved  the 
manes  and  tails  of  the  rogues'  horses  and  drove 

them  off. 

THE  CAET  WAR. 

Mexicans  were  hired  to  carr\"  goods  from  San 
Antonio  to  other  towns.  The  merchants  hired 
them  because  they  would  work  cheap.  They  were 
honest  and  did  good  work. 

Tlie  Texas  wagoners  tried  to  drive  the  Mexicans 
out  by  saying  they  were  going  to  kill  them.  They 
drove  their  oxen  off.  Their  carts  tliey  broke  up. 
They  had  many  fight's.  Often  the  drivers  were 
killed. 

These  teamsters  had  a  hard  time.    One  dav  one 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  95 

of  them  went  into  a  thicket  to  get  a  stick  for  an 
ox  whip.  While  he  was  cutting  it,  a  lion  sprang 
upon  him.  The  man  scared  him  away  once  by 
popping  his  whip.  When  he  came  a  second  time 
they  were  ready  for  him.,  and  while  he  sat  down 
to  lick  the  blood  off,  the  men  got  aw^ay.  They 
had  fresh  meat,  which  made  the  wolves  follow 
them.  They  had  to  frighten  them  away  by  throw- 
ing fire  at  them. 

THE  BLACK  AND  WHITE  BEANS. 

At  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Texans  came 
marching  up  and  gave  up  their  arms.  They  had 
been  wounded  at  Mier.  After  a  long  march  they 
halted  and  fed  their  horses.  Five  days  were  spent 
in  trying  to  make  their  way  through  the  moun- 
tains. They  could  get  neither  water  nor  food. 
They  killed  and  ate  their  horses. 

Many  of  the  people  became  crazy,  and  ran  off 
or  fell  down.  At  last  they  saw  smoke,  and  found 
it  to  be  a  Mexican  camp.  Their  arms  had  been 
thrown  away  and  they  were  too  tired  to  fight. 
So  they  gave  up,  hoping  the  Mexicans  would  treat 
them  well. 


96  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY, 

An  order  came  from  Santa  Anna  that  every 
tenth  man  sliould  be  shot.  All  were  put  in  irons 
and  well  guarded.  How  were  they  to  find  out 
who  should  be  the  tenth  man? 

Their  plan  was  this :  They  were  drawn  up  to 
a  wall.  Behind  it  stood  an  officer  with  a  pitcher. 
In  it  were  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  white  beans 
and  seventeen  black  ones.  The  pitcher  was  held 
up  so  tliat  those  drawing  could  not  look  into  it. 

As  their  names  were  called,  they  came  up  and 
drew  a  bean.  All  of  them  looked  brave  and  cheer- 
ful. The  black  ])eans  meant  they  must  die.  The 
irons  were  taken  off  from  those  who  had  drawn 
them,  and  that  evening  they  were  led  out  to  be 
shot. 

The  Mexicans  tied  them  together  and  tied 
handkerchiefs  over  their  eyes.  They  wanted  to 
stand  up  and  be  shot  in  front,  because  that  seemed 
bravo,  but  they  were  made  to  sit  down  upon  a 
log  near  the  wall  with  their  Ijacks  to  the  soldiers. 
There,  just  before  dark,  they  were  shot  in  turn. 
The  Mexicans  kept  slidoting  until  all  were  killed. 


FOOTPRINTS  OF  TEXAS  HISTORY.       97 

DRAWING  BEAXS. 

ITow  would  you  like  to  draw  beans  for  yout 
Vwc'!^?  The  Mexicans  wanted  to  kill  Captain  Cam- 
eron, a  Texan  they  had  caught,  and  were  in  hopes 
that  he  would  draw  a  black  bean.  To  make  this 
almost  certain  the  black  ones  were  placed  on  top 
and  he  was  made  to  draw  first,  but  the  others 
came  in  order  of  the  first  letter  of  their  names. 

As  he  reached  for  the  pitcher,  which  was  held 
<o  high  tliat  no  one  could  see  into  it,  one  of  the 
men  said,  "^"Dip  deep.  Captain."  Cameron  ran 
liis  fingers  to  the  bottom,  and  pulled  out  a  white 
))can.  The  Texans  were  pleased,  for  they  all 
loved  him.  The  drawing  now  went  on.  All 
"dipped  deep,"'  and  it  was  some  time  before  a 
lilack  bean  was  drawn. 

TIow  their  hearts  bled  when  a  black  bean  was 
held  up  by  a  dear  friend  who  had  stood  by  them 
in  battle  or  in  the  mountain  wn'lds.  Xow  he  must 
die.  far  from  home  and  the  loved  oiu'S  there. 

One  young  lioy  was  sick  and  not  able  to  stand 
in  line  to  draw  his  l)ean,  and  the  pitcher  had  to 
he  bvou«-]it  to  him.    Before  his  time  came  to  draw 


98  FOOTPRINTS   OF  TEXAS    HISTORY, 

lie  told  his  brother  that  if  he  himself  drew  a  white 
l)ean  and  his  brother  a  black  one,  he  wanted  to 
be  siiot  instead  of  him.  But  both 'drew  white 
beans  and  lived  to  go  home. 

As  the  drawing  went  on,  the  ehancej^  for  Wal- 
lace grew  less,  his  letter,  "W.'"  coming  last.  Tht- 
boys  had  "dipped  deep"  nntil  nearly  all  the  white 
beans  had  been  dipped  ont.  AVhcn  he  drew  there 
wei'e  a*  many  black  beans  in  the  jar  as  "white  ones 
AAlien  his  time  came  his  hand  was  so  laige  he 
could  bai'dly  get  it  down  to  the  beans,  and  they 
were  so  scarce  he  took  two.  up  against  the  side  of 
Ihc  jar  and  got  them  between  Iris  fingers  and  felt 
of  theni.  I  To  knew  that  the  black  beans  were  a 
little  larger  llian  the  white  ones. 

The  ^fexicans  were  watching  liim  closely  and 
told  hiifi  to  Imrry  up,  and  that  if  lie  pulled  out 
two  beans  and  one  was  black  he  would  have  to 
take  it.  "P)ig  Foot'"  did  not  mind  what  thcv  said. 
T^ife  was  at  stake  now. 

After  feeling  the  beans  a  few  seionds  one 
seemed  to  be  a  little  larger  than  the  other,  ami 
he  let  it  go.  The  one  he  pulled  out  was  white, 
but  he  knew  the  oilier  was  black.     The  next  four 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY.  99 

men  to  draw  after  him  drew  black  beans.  The 
black  beans  were  now  all  out,  and  the  last  three 
men  on  the  list  did  not  draw.  A  man  turned  up 
the  jar  and  three  white  beans  fell  to  the  ground. 

The  irons  were  now  taken  off,  and  the  men  who 
drew  the  black  beans  were  led  away  to  death.  The 
rest  were  sent  to  the  City  of  Mexico.  They  were 
driven  like  cattle,  and  starved.  They  were 
laughed  at  by  people  on  tlie  way. 

On  the  march,  after  the  chains  were  taken  off, 
Wallace  made  good  use  of  his  long  arms.  Some 
say  he  had  the  longest  arms  of  any  man  they  ever 
saw  outside  of  a  show.  He  would  reach  and  get 
cakes  and  tamales  from  stands  as  they  passed 
them.  The  owners  would  make  a  great  outcry, 
but  the  soldiers  would  laugh. 

Sometimes  they  would  meet  a  man  carrying  a 
tray  of  good  things  on  his  head.  Wallace  was  so 
]nuch  taller  than  the  Mexican  that  he  could  get 
a  handful  of  things  and  the  owner  would  be  none 
the  wiser.  He  could  pass  a  cake  staiKl  and  then 
reach  back  and  get  cakes  from  it. 

After  a  while  some  Texans  who  had  been  sent 
to  Santa  Fe  met  with  the  Mier  men.     Thev  were 


100  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

prisoners,  too.  The  brave  Dr.  Brenham  and  others 
planned  to  kill  the  guard  and  get  away  from  Sa- 
lado.  l^he}^  knew  it  meant  death  to  the  first  man 
to  attack  the  guard.  Brenham  marched  up  and 
gave  his  life  so  the  others  could  get  away.  That 
is  the  bravest  thing  a  man  can  do. 

PRISONERS. 

We  can  not  tell  all  these  brave  men  did  for 
Texas.  When  they  were  on  the  mountains,  for 
days  they  had  no  water  nor  food.  They  killed 
and  ate  their  horses.     The  men  drank  the  blood. 

Wallace  killed  a  mule  he  had  taken  from  a 
Mexican,  and  they  ate  the  meat  and  drank  the 
red  blood.  The  horses  died.  All  were  now  on 
foot.  Many  died  on  the  rocks  on  top  of  the 
mountains.    Most  of  the  guns  were  thrown  away. 

Some  men  would  fall  down  with  their  feet 
pointing  the  way  they  wished  to  go.  Wallace  had 
some  mule  meat,  which  he  had  dried  in  the  sun. 
He  would  eat  some  of  that  until  he  got  so  thirsty 
he  could  eat  it  no  longer.  His  tongue  was  dry. 
For  five  or  more  days  he  kept  on  without  water. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  101 

The  Mexicans  who  were  on  their  trail  caught 
them  at  last.  They  gave  them  only  a  little  water 
at  a  time  for  fear  it  would  kill  them.  They  were 
tied  with  ropes  and  marched  on. 

WALLACE  A  PRISONER  IN  MEXICO. 

When  they  came  near  Mexico  an  order  came 
from  Santa  Anna  to  shoot  Cameron.  That  night 
they  put  him  in  a  room  alone.  The  others  were 
crowded  together  in  a  small  room.  They  thought 
that  the  Mexicans  were  going  to  kill  their  cap- 
tain. 

When  they  were  all  marched  out  the  next  morn- 
ing to  a  tank  to  wash,  each  man  filled  his  shirt 
full  of  rocks  and  made  up  his  mind  to  fight. 
When  asked  why  they  were  getting  the  rocks,  they 
said  so  that  they  could  walk  better.  The  Mexi- 
cans said  the  captain  was  coming  on.  They  heard 
guns  firing,  and  knew  that  he  had  been  shot. 

They  stayed  in  Mexico  nearly  a  year.  They 
worked  the  streets  in  chains.  Some  of  their  work 
was  to  carry  sand  in  sacks  to  make  a  fine  road  up 
a  hill  to   Santa  Anna's  house.     Sometimes  they 


102  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 

would  play  off  by  making  holes  in  their  sacks  and 
letting  the  sand  run  out  as  they  went  along. 

Some  of  them  got  away  by  climbing  a  wall. 
The  rest  were  put  in  a  dark,  damp  room.  The 
air  was  so  bad  tliat  some  of  them  died.  Wallace 
and  others  went  wild  and  had  to  be  tied  down. 
Wallace  was  called  the  madman. 

As  soon  as  he  was  able  he  was  put  to  work 
again.  Sometimes  they  hitched  twenty-five  to  a 
cart  and  made  them  haul  rock  from  tlie  moun- 
tains down  to  town.  The  Texans  let  three  carts 
get  away  from  them  on  the  side  of  the  mountain 
and  they  were  smiashed  to  pieces  by  running  off 
a  bluff. 

One  time  tliey  hitched  Wallace  to  a  cart  alone 
to  haul  sand  to  toAvn.  Just  for  fun  he  made  as  if 
he  was  scared  at  something;  he  gave  a  loud  snort 
and  ran  away.  He  ran  against  things  and  tore 
the  cart  all  to  pieces  before  he  could  be  stopped. 

Thei'O  was  a  wall  five  feet  thick  around  the 
prison,  but  they  tried  to  dig  under  it.  They  dug 
at  night  and  hid  tlie  dirt  as  best  they  could.  Some 
of  the  dirt  was  carried  in  their  clothes  and  scat- 
tered on  the  streets  the  next  day.     In  this  way 


FOOTPRINTS  OF  TEXAS  HISTORY.      103 

twenty-four  men  got  out ;  but  the  plot  was  found 
out  before  the  others  could  go. 

Chains  were  put  upon  all  of  them  again.  They 
were  made  to  work  harder.  Many  nights  now 
passed,  away,  and  clanking  chains  could  be  heard 
at  all  hours  of  the  night.  Eats  came  into  the 
den,  and  the  Texans  were  so  near  starved  that 
they  caught  and  ate  them.  When  the  sound  of 
a  rat  was  heard  hitting  the  floor,  chains  would 
rattle  all  over  the  cell,  as  each  man  was  trying  to 
catch  him. 

Friends  of  these  men  in  Texas  were  trying  all 
the  time  to  get  them  free. 

Santa,  Anna's  wife  was  a  good,  kind  woman. 
On  her  deathbed,  she  asked  that  he  would  set  these 
men  free,  and  for  once  in  his  life  he  kept  his  word. 

THE  TEXAS  SEAL. 

Do  you  know  what  the  Texas  seal  is?  What 
does  the  State  have  printed  on  all  of  the  paper 
used  in  the  capitol?  The  Texas  seal  is  made 
of  a  star  of  five  points  with  olive  and  live-oak 
branches  around  it.    Around  the  star  and  wreath 


104 


FOOTPRINTS   OF   TEXAS    HISTORY. 


THE    TEXAS    SEAL. 

"The  State  of  Texas"  is  printed:  This  is  the  way 
Texas  signs  her  name,  as  you  sign  yours  at  the 
end  of  a  letter  or  paper. 

[Draw  a  Texas  seal.] 

A  TEXAS  NORTHER. 

In  Texas  we  do  not  often  have  ice  or  snow. 
So  mild  are  the  winters  that  grass  stops  growing 
only  for  a  short  time,  and  there  is  enough  at  all 
tim'es  to  keep  the  cattle  fat.  The  northers  make 
the  only  winter  in  Texas. 

Just  before  a  norther  it  is  very  warm.  Far 
to  the  north  you  can  see  a  little  black  cloud.     It 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTORY.  105 

lifts  and  shoots  out  great  black  arms.  It  seems 
a  thing  of  life.  The  black  cloud  covers  half  the 
sky.     Cattle  hurry  to  shelter. 

Suddenly  a  cold  wind  comes  down  like  a  rush- 
ing flood.  It  seems  as  if  it  had  been  caged  in 
caves  of  ice  or  swept  miles  over  fields  of  snow. 
Before  you  can  put  on  more  clothes,  you  are 
chilled. 

Let  your  lungs  drink  it  in.  It  is  full  of  elec- 
tricity. If  you  rub  a  cat's  back  in  a  dark  corner 
after  a  norther,  you  will  see  a  number  of  sparks 
flash  from  her. 

The  northers  come  from  the  months  of  Novem- 
ber to  March. 

THE  BLUE  AND  THE  GRAY. 

In  the  great  four  years'  war,  the  North  wore 
the  blue  and  the  South  wore  the  gray.  Sons 
fought  against  their  fathers.  Can  you  sing 
"Dixie,"  the  song  of  the  South,  and  "Yankee 
Doodle,"  the  song  of  the  North?  All  the  men 
and  even  the  boys  w^ent  to  war.  The  mammas 
and  little  girls  stayed  at  home  and  made  their 


106  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

own  cloth,  shoes,  and  gloves.  They  even  made 
cartridges. 

Drinks  were  ntude  of  parched  potatoes,  or  hnrnt 
peas,  and  roots.  Tea  and  cofl'ee  cost  so  much 
that  only  the  sick  could  have  themi. 

One  time  during  the  war,  the  men  of  the  South 
took  a  ship  called  the  "Harriet  Lane"  from  the 
North.  This  ship  was  lying  near  the  wharf  at 
Galveston.  The  South  lost  only  twelve  men.  The 
North  lost  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 

There  were  two  young  soldiers  hurt.  One  fell 
fighting  for  the  South.  The  other  dropped  on 
the  deck  of  the  "Harriet  Lane"  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

The  first  was  Sidney  Sherman,  the  son  of  him 
who  fought  at  San  Jacinto.  He  was  only  a  boy. 
As  he  lay  dying,  his  lips  parted  in  a  smile.  His 
blue  eyes  grew  soft  and  tender.  "Break  this 
gently  to  my  mother,"  were  his  last  words. 

The  young  soldier  of  the  North  was  Edward 
Lta,  on  the  "Harriet  Lane."  He  heard  his  name 
spoken.  He  opened  his  eyes.  His  father,  who 
had  fought  for  the  South,  was  kneeling  beside 
him.     On   this  New  Year's  day,  father  and  son 


FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS   HISTORY.  107 

fought  against  each  other.  The  pale  face  of  the 
young  man  lighted  with  joy;  and  when  the  doc- 
tor told  him  he  had  hut  a  moment  to  live,  he  said 
with  his  last  hreath,  "My  father  is  here." 

Edward's  father  read  his  burial  service,  as  there 
was  no  one  else  to  do  it. 

eyerythtnct  cost  more  during  the 
war  than  it  does  now. 

SOME    WAR-TIME    NUMBER    WORK. 

1.  A  soldier  paid  200  dollars  for  his  gun  and 
4000  dollars  for  his  horse.  How  much  did  both 
cost  him  ? 

2.  At  20  dollars  a.  pound,  how  much  coffee 
can  you  buy  for  40  dollars? 

3.  If  one  hat  costs  120  dollars,  how  much 
would  four  hats  cost? 

4.  If  one  pair  of  boots  for  a  boy  cost  75  dol- 
lars, how  much  would  two  pairs  cost? 

5.  If  it  took  five  yards  to  make  a  little  girl's 
best  dress,  and  her  mamma  paid  40  dollars  a  yard, 
how  much  did  the  dress  cost? 


108  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TllXAS    HISTORY. 

YOUNG  SIDNEY  SHERMAN. 


Pillow  his  head  on  his  flashing  sword, 

Who  fell  ere  the  fight  was  won, 
The  turf  looks  red  where  his  life  was  poured — 

He  fell  beside  his  gun ! 

TI. 

For  liberty  claimed  his  parting  breath, 

And  fame  his  last  trumpet  cry: 
Yes,  Freedom  hath  torn  his  young  name  from 
Death— 

The  brave  can  never  die. 

III. 

TJut  his  life  grew  faint  when  the  storm  raged  high 

And  ebbed  with  the  dawning  sun. 
And  there  on  the  field  of  victory 

He  fell  beside  bis  gun ! 

IV. 

For  a  care  will  live  in  the  father's  breast. 

And  a  grief  in  the  mother's  eye, 
And  a  gloom  on  the  silent  heart  will  rest, 

A  orloom  that  can  never  die ! 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  109 


V. 


Yes,  liberty  shrined  his  parting  breath, 

And  Texas  his  fainting  cry; 
Yes,  Fame  hath  torn  his  young  name  from  death, 

For  the  bra.ve  can  never  die! 

VI. 

Then  pillow  his  head  on  his  ilashing  sword, 

Who  fell  where  the  field  was  won ; 
The  turf  was  red  where  his  life  was  poured — 

He  fell  beside  his  gun. 

THE  FIPtST  RAILROAD  IN  TEXAS. 

Children,  you  must  remember  Sherman  not 
only  as  a  brave  soldier,  but  as  the  father  of  the 
railroad  in  Texas.  The  first  road  was  named  for 
him.  Now  we  can  go  many  miles  on  the  train. 
All  the  big  cities  are  joined  by  rail. 

Sherman  fought  in  the  battTe  of  San  Jacinto. 
He  first  gave  the  cry  of  "Remember  the  Alamo !" 
"Remember  (xoliad !" 

Some  ladies  sent  Sherman's  wife  the  flag  which 
was  waved  at  San  Jacinto.    It  was  made  of  white 


110  FOOTPRINTS    OF    TEXAS    HISTORY. 

silk  with  gold  fringe,  and  had  the  figure  of  a 
lady  on  it.  The  family  kept  it  for  years.  After 
a  while  they  put  it  into  a  glass  case,  because  it 
was  so  torn,  and  gave  it  to  the  State.  You  can 
see  it  at  the  capitol. 

A  TEUE  SOLDIER. 

A.  S.  Johnston  was  a  great  soldier. 

Mexico  did  not  want  Texas  to  join  her  lone  star 
to  the  United  States,  so  the  war  began  again. 

Johnston  fought  over  in  Mexico.  The  Texans 
at  Monterey  broke  open  doors,  knocked  down 
walls,  and  shot  many  Mexicans.  The  city  gave 
up  after  three  days'  fighting. 

Johnston  m'ade  his  home  in  Austin  for  many 
years. 

He  fought  bravely  for  the  South,  until  he  re- 
ceived a  wound  in  his  leg.  He  did  not  think 
anything  about  it,  until,  faint  from  the  loss  of 
blood,  he  had  to  be  lifted  from  his  horse. 

He  died  on  the  battlefield,  as  a  true  soldier 
would  like  to  die. 


POOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY.  Ill 

DEATH  OF  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 


The  sun  was  sinking  o'er  the  battle  plain, 
Where  night  winds  soft  were  sighing, 

While,  with  smiling  lips,  near  his  war-horse  slain, 
Lay  a  valiant  chieftain  dying. 

II. 

And  as  he  sank  to  his  long,  last  rest. 
The  banner  once  o'er  him  streaming. 

He  folded  'round  his  most  gallant  breast. 
On  the  couch  that  knows  no  dreaming. 

III. 

Proudly  he  lay  on  the  battlefield. 

On  the  banks  of  the  noble  river; 
And  the  crimso.n  stream  from  his  veins  did  yield, 

"Without  a  pang  or  quiver. 

IV. 

Thei'e  were  friends  who  came  to  bind  his  wounds, 
There  were  eyes  o'er  the  soldier  streaming, 

A?  ho  raised  his  head  from  the  bloody  ground. 
Where  manv  a  brave  was  dreaming. 


112  FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS   HISTORY. 

V. 

"Now,  away,"  he  cried,  "your  aid  is  vain. 
My  soul  will  not  brook  recalling; 

I  haA^e  seen  the  tyrant  enemy  slain. 
And  like  autumn  vine  leaves  falling. 

VI. 

"I  have  seen  our  glorious  banner  wave 
O'er  the  tents  of  the  enemy  vanquished ; 

I  have  drawn  a  sword  for  my  country  brave, 
And  in  her  cause  now  perish. 

VII. 

"Leave  me  to  die  with  the  free  and  brave, 
On  the  banks  of  my  noble  river. 

Ye  can  give  me  naught  but  a  soldier's  grave. 
And  a  place  in  your  hearts  forever." 

THE  LAND  WE  LOVE. 

KEY    OF   G. 

Ms,  ddd,  dtl.slf,  m--li 

|(d-dd,r--,  td-. 
s,  mmm,mmm,ffff-- 
^^r,  ^dr,mmm,m-- 
d-dd,d--,  r-rr,  r--, 
t-tt,  tit,  d--,  II 

Come,  cheerful  companions,  unite  in  this  song. 
Here's  to  the  land  we  love. 


FOOTPRINTS    OF   TEXAS    HISTORY.  113 

Let  moimtain  and  valley  the  echoes  prolong, 

Here's  to  the  land  we  love. 
We  love  all  its  woodlands  and  prairies  so  wide. 
From  northernmost  bound'ry  to  Mexico's  tide; 
Here's  to  the  land,  here's  to  the  land, 

Here's  to  the  land  we  love. 

And  here's  to  the  wise  and  the  brave  and  true,. 

They  are  the  friends  we  love. 
Their  beautiful  lives  are  for  me  and  for  you. 

They  are  the  friends  we  love. 
There  are  Boude  and  Crockett  and  Travis  so  brave^ 
There's  Fannin  who  died  our  country  to  save. 
They  are  the  friends,  they  are  the  friends. 

They  are  the  friends  we  love. 

My  Texas  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  Liberty, 

Of  thee  1  sing. 
Land  where  my  fathers   died. 
Land  of  the  Texan's  pride. 
From  all  our  prairies  wide 

Let  Freedom  ring. 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last 
date  stamped  below 


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PM 
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OKiYERsrry  of  califoknu 

.  AT 
LOS  ANGELES 


F387 
D68f 
1916 


